The New York Times and the Economist both had interesting pieces last week highlighting the difficulties of federal corporate tax reform. Most interesting, however, was a chart in each article showing the effective federal corporate income tax rate by industry. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the chart contained a major error. The effective rates in the chart…
Blog
AP ran an interesting piece this afternoon showing that West Virginia's economy is struggling despite good job growth. The article noted that the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 9.6% in December 2010 (although Work Force WV has the rate at 9.4), rising slightly above the national rate of 9.4% for the first time…
December General Revenue collections exceeded estimates by $38.2 million dollars. This was the 8th consecutive month where actual collections exceeded estimated collections. At the midpoint of FY 2011, West Virginia currently sits on a cash surplus of nearly $160 million dollars. The graph below shows monthly estimated and actual revenue collections since the beginning of…
Over last fifty years, the cost of health care has increased dramatically in the United States. In 1960, 5 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) went toward health expenditures. By 2008, health expenditures comprised 16.2 percent of GDP. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that total health care spending could reach 26 percent…
The compromise tax plan agreed to by President Obama and congressional Republicans would double the tax cut for the top one percent of earners in West Virginia from the tax cut the President proposed, while offering a smaller tax cut to the poorest West Virginians, and almost no change for the middle class. The compromise…
At our recent annual meeting, the keynote speaker, economist and senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Dr. Robert Tannenwald, talked about how West Virginia should place more emphasis on education, infrastructure, and health, rather than creating tax cuts for businesses as a way to promote economic growth. You can listen to…
Two proposals regarding federal spending and taxes could have a major impact on West Virginia's budget. First, Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have signaled that they plan to pursue the $105 billion cut in non-security discretionary programs in the 2011 budget first proposed in the "Pledge to America" campaign document. This would be…
West Virginia's combined cash flow for the first four months of FY 2011 resulted in $95.6 million dollars in surplus revenue, a significant reversal of fortunes from the same start in FY 2010. Figure 1 below shows the cumulative general revenue cash flow from the beginning of the fiscal year starting in July through the…
Approximately one in seven West Virginians found themselves in poverty during the recession years of 2008 and 2009. This number would have been even higher without crucial assistance from government programs (Figure 1). Figure 1. West Virginians in poverty with and without government programs Source. Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2010. Microdata…
As the election grows near, if there is a a dominant message to be heard from the candidates on the national level, it's that federal spending has been out of control and needs to be drastically cut. Advertisements often cite the financial bailouts, the stimulus plan, and the new health care law as examples of…