Last week, the West Virginia Economic Development Authority authorized $150 million in bonds that will be used to purchase equipment for the Gestamp stamping plant in South Charleston over the next five years. The Development Authority will purchase the equipment needed for the stamping plant and lease it back to Gestamp, which allows Gestamp to…
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A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation looks at the poverty rate of seniors across the country. The report uses the new supplemental poverty measure from the Census Bureau to estimate poverty rates. According to the Census Bureau, poverty rates among elderly West Virginians are slightly higher under the supplemental poverty measure (11%) than…
An article in yesterday's Wheeling Intelligencer claims that a Northern Panhandle pediatrician is being forced to retire because of the costs of Obamacare. It makes for a great headline for opponents of the Affordable Care Act, but is it true? In short, no, at least not for the reason cited. Dr. Ventosa's primary claim is that…
When Governor Tomblin announced earlier this month that West Virginia would be expanding Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act, there was little said on how this move will positively impact the state's substance abuse problem. The Governor's Advisory Council on Substance Abuse (GACSA) (created by Tomblin in 2011) estimated that there are over…
In discussions about poverty in West Virginia and Appalachia, it doesn't take long before someone blames "welfare dependency" for the plight of West Virginia's poor and its lack of economic welfare. The idea of West Virginia having a "culture of poverty" is nothing new. In fact, its roots date back to the 1960s. As Mil…
Back when we released our report on the FY 2013 budget, we warned that the budget cuts targeting higher education would likely lead to higher tuition, making a college education even less affordable. And it didn't take long for our prediction to come true, as this week New River Community and Technical College and Marshall University both…
Last week, Governor Tomblin announced that West Virginia would be expanding Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act. The decision came after a report issued by CCRC Actuaries estimated that expanding Medicaid would provide health insurance coverage to an estimated 91,000 West Virginians. Over the next ten years (2014 to 2023), the report estimates that…
Last year, Ted showed, using ACS data, that income inequality was on the rise in West Virginia since 2006. But as it turns out, income inequality has been on the rise in West Virginia for almost 40 years. Mark Frank, an economist at Sam Houston State University, has used IRS records to put together state…
The federal government released data today showing the cost of procedures at hospitals in all 50 states that are paid by Medicare. See news stories here and here. As this Wonkblog graph highlights, the good news is that providers in West Virginia tend to charge less than most states on a number of inpatient procedures.…
Late last week, the governor vetoed several pieces of legislation. Meanwhile, for the first time in several years, he did not issue any budget vetoes. As Sean and I pointed out here, the governor in West Virginia has extraordinary power compared to other states. In fact, the people of the state grant West Virginia's governor…