Join us next Friday for our 9th annual Budget Breakfast! Each year, the WVCBP holds this fundraising event to provide analysis of the Governor's proposed budget. You'll hear from our executive director, Kelly Allen, our senior policy analyst, Sean O'Leary, and our keynote speaker, Brian Elderbroom of Justice Reform Strategies. You can purchase a ticket for…
Budget Beat
West Virginia’s economy continues to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly two years after impacts were first felt in the state. After historic job losses in the spring of 2020, the state underwent a steep, but partial recovery in the summer. However, growth has been sluggish in recent months, and a substantial jobs gap…
Senator Manchin’s announcement that he will not support the Build Back Better Act is a major blow to West Virginia’s families, workers, small businesses, and state economy. Failing to pass a social infrastructure package and an extension of the improved Child Tax Credit – including the monthly payments that are helping West Virginia families afford the…
Under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Congress temporarily increased the Child Tax Credit (CTC) for more than 65 million children nationally, including 346,000 in West Virginia where it reaches 93 percent of children. Since July, most households with children have received $250- $300 per child monthly via the increased CTC, but the final payment was delivered this week…
The WVCBP is a proud member of the West Virginia Criminal Law Reform Coalition, a group of West Virginia-based organizations partnering in pursuit of systemic changes to the state’s criminal legal system. This past Monday, the coalition hosted an advocacy day at the Capitol to bring awareness to the issues members hope to see addressed during the…
Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the overall year-over-year inflation rate in October was 6.2 percent, a notably high rate. While there are many reasons to believe that inflation will ease in the coming months, some, including West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, are arguing that current high rates of inflation are not transitory and instead…
The open enrollment period to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) started on November 1 and continues through January 15. This period allows individuals without existing health coverage to enroll in a private insurance plan or Medicaid – all in one place. As the nation continues to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic,…
According to data from the Census Household Pulse Survey, nearly 40 percent of West Virginia families who mostly spent their Child Tax Credit payments used the payments to cover education costs such as school books and supplies, tuition, after-school programs, and transportation to and from school in September, while 26 percent used the payments to cover…
It’s Halloween week — time to get spooky! Who needs ghost stories when you have spine-tingling bars and trend lines? Our newest blog post highlights five ghoulish charts about West Virginia in 2021 that should make you shudder (and fight for needed change!). Topics explored include state job loss, ongoing unemployment, prematurely terminated federally-funded unemployment…
Earlier this week, it was reported that Senator Manchin was calling for a significant weakening of the enhanced Child Tax Credit (CTC) as part of his proposal to scale back the Build Back Better agenda. Senator Manchin is reportedly calling for a significant reduction in the size and scope of the CTC by demanding a strict work…