Thanks to the programs enacted through COVID-related federal relief legislation this past year, an estimated 301,000 fewer West Virginians were living in poverty this year than would have been otherwise, a reduction of 71 percent, according to an analysis from the Urban Institute estimating the state’s Supplemental Poverty Measure. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) measures poverty after taking into…
Budget Beat
State of Working West Virginia 2021: Labor, Race, and Solidarity is out now! The 14th edition of the WVCBP's State of Working West Virginia series explores the interrelated declines of worker power and economic equality in the Mountain State. The report was written in three parts. Part 1 examines the economic transition that took place in…
It is no question that students in West Virginia and across the country suffered academic losses in connection to COVID-19’s impacts on instruction and learning time. Our new issue brief explores how American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) education funds can be utilized to address these losses, as well as longstanding challenges and racial inequity in West Virginia…
In June, Gov. Justice prematurely ended all federally funded pandemic unemployment benefit programs. These enhanced unemployment benefits, which the governor terminated 12 weeks before required, have played a major role in West Virginia’s economic recovery. The governor justified his decision to end the enhanced benefits by claiming that doing so would encourage people to return to work.…
As a result of SB 648 (passed in 2020), this year West Virginia began offering a dental benefit for adults over the age of 21 who are enrolled in WV Medicaid. Our newest blog post takes a look at how this new benefit has impacted WV Medicaid members. Nearly one in five West Virginia adults gained access to dental benefits via Medicaid this…
In her first blog post for the WVCBP, summer research associate Myya Helm explores the decline in worker power in West Virginia since the 1980s and highlights the role of organized labor for the state's Black workers and how unions are critical to the pursuit of equity in the workforce. Despite ample evidence that unionization…
West Virginia FY 2021 revenue collections are $413 million above estimates, but as of May 2021, the state was still down 36,000 jobs. How is this possible? Our new blog post breaks down a few significant contributors: delaying Tax Dayreceiving an influx of federal COVID relief dollarsbeginning with relatively low revenue estimates These crucial pieces of…
Last week, the Legislature provided a one-year relief to county governments by freezing the current regional jail per diem at $48.25, rather than allowing it to increase as scheduled to reflect the true daily cost of jail incarceration, nearly $55. Our new blog post explains why this temporary relief is simply a band-aid fix for county budgets…
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will allocate more than $1.355 billion in federal relief funds to the state of West Virginia to address the ongoing economic and health impacts of the pandemic. Recently, members of legislative leadership have called for a special session to fulfill the mandate set forth in House Bill 2014, which provides for legislative oversight for any…
WVCBP executive director Kelly Allen recently published an op-ed expressing support for the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan, both of which would provide much-needed support to hundreds of thousands of West Virginians simply by asking the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes. Excerpt below: A higher tax rate on about 1%…