Blog

January 2, 2013 by Ted Boettner
Shale Boom Should Not Deter Education Investments

"Political leaders don't have to do the hard work of building human capital and promoting sustainable economic growth -- they can just coast along, riding the benefits of the resource boom." The above quote was taken from a new article in Foreign Policy Magazine by David Rothkopk. The article, "Cursed with Plenty," looks at a…

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January 2, 2013 by Ted Boettner
Hospitals Need Medicaid Expansion to Reduce Costs

Hospitals in West Virginia will face higher costs if the state fails to expand Medicaid to 130,000 low-income West Virginians under the Affordable Care Act. According to a recent study by John Graves in the New England Journal of Medicine, hospitals will see a reduction in federal Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH or "dish") payments that…

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December 19, 2012 by Sean O'Leary
Eliminating the Personal Property Tax: Part 3 – What’s at Stake for Municipalities

(Continued from Part 2 - published 12/11/12) In FY 2012, West Virginia's 241 municipalities collected an estimated $30 million in personal property tax revenue. While municipal governments are less reliant on property taxes as a source of revenue than are county governments, property taxes still make up around 10 percent of municipal general revenues. While…

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December 18, 2012 by WVCBP
West Virginia Families Benefit From Free Bargaining

Michigan has become the 24th state to pass "right-to-work" legislation. Essentially that means collective bargaining agreements cannot require nonunion employees to pay union dues. However, nonunion employees may still often benefit from wage agreements, a grievance process, and other benefits negotiated by the union. West Virginia does not have a "right-to-work" law, but some think…

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December 17, 2012 by Sean O'Leary
Not All Tax Incentives are Tax Credits *Update*

This month's New York Times article on business tax subsidies has attracted plenty of attention in West Virginia, as our state was listed as second in the nation with $857 per resident given out to attract businesses in the state. While state officials defended the state's use of tax incentives, Phil Kabler in Sunday's Gazette-Mail…

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December 13, 2012 by Sean O'Leary
Forbes Best States For Business Don’t Always Have the Best Job Growth

Another day, another business climate ranking with a poor result for West Virginia, this time coming from the Forbes 2012 Best States for Business list, which ranks West Virginia as the 45th best state for business. Forbes first started ranking the states in 2006, so like I did earlier this week with the Economic Freedom…

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December 12, 2012 by WVCBP
West Virginia Must Strengthen Its Safety Net

Our state safety net is a crucial lifeline for families and children in poverty, whether it is providing child care assistance to help a single mom get to work, providing affordable and quality health care to a child or disabled person, or ensuring that kids can get breakfast at school. Unfortunately, West Virginia has one…

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December 12, 2012 by Sean O'Leary
“Economic Freedom” Index Fails to Predict Economic Performance

Last week, an article in the Daily Mail noted that West Virginia once again ranks poorly in an economic index, this time the Economic Freedom of North America 2012 index, created by the Fraser Institute.  According to the study, West Virginia is one of the least economically free states in the country, and that economic freedom increases affluence.…

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December 11, 2012 by Sean O'Leary
Eliminating the Personal Property Tax: Part 2 – What’s at Stake for Counties

(continued from Part 1 published 11/28/12) In FY 2012, the personal property tax produced over an estimated $122 million for the 55 county governments in West Virginia, accounting for more than 30 percent of all county property tax revenue. And since property taxes account for 63 percent of county government revenue, that means the personal property…

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December 6, 2012 by Sean O'Leary
Collective Bargaining Agreements and Work Sharing

At a recent interim committee meeting regarding creating a work sharing program in West Virginia, concerns were raised over potential conflicts between work sharing and collective bargaining agreements. Fortunately, these concerns are easily addressed, and do not pose a hurdle for the creation of a work sharing program in West Virginia. Work sharing allows employers, in…

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