Who do you think would be most affected by an increase in the minimum wage? It might not be who you were thinking. Sean explains how an increase in the minimum wage would benefit not only West Virginia workers but the state's economy as well here. For much more on what increasing the minimum wage…
Budget Beat
Budget Beat - October 11, 2013 Under Obamacare, West Virginia, along with Michigan and Kentucky, will see 81 percent of its currently uninsured residents receive some sort of assistance in getting health insurance, either by qualifying for Medicaid or tax-subsidies in the Marketplace. Of the estimated 270,000 West Virginians without health insurance, about 219,000 of…
Budget Beat - October 4, 2013 Thousands of West Virginians signed up for health care as open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act kicked off this week. Have questions about how it all works? Brandon's OpEd in the Daily Mail answers many questions about Obamacare. In Case You Missed It This week the WVCBP released…
Budget Beat - September 27, 2013 This week the WVCBP was a part of history as months of work came to together at the state Capitol. On Tuesday and Wednesday, activists, policymakers, West Virginia families met to set policy priorities for how to lift working families out of poverty at the Our Children Our Future…
Budget Beat - September 20, 2013 House Votes to Cut Food Stamp Benefits to Millions Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted to cut funding to SNAP, the food stamp program, by $40 billion over the next two years, kicking nearly four million people off the program. This bill would have harsh impacts for West Virginia…
Budget Beat - September 13, 2013 How Much Should You Be Making? Over the Labor Day weekend, the Economic Policy Institute released a tool you can use to see what you would be earning had wages kept up with productivity. Read more in Sean's blog post this week. Starting October 1, 2013 the new insurance…
The Big, Bad, Scary Wolf that is Obamacare is coming after the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. At least that's what our insurance provider wants us to think. In a letter sent to the office a couple of weeks ago, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield plays the Obamacare fear card, and then, somewhat astonishingly,…
Budget Beat - September 6, 2013 Brighter Future Conference Draws Diverse Crowd Business and labor leaders, policymakers, scientists and advocates from across the state gathered in Charleston on Tuesday and Wednesday for the Brighter Future conference. Panelists from a wide variety of organizations discussed West Virginia's economic future and how to prepare the state for…
Budget Beat for August 30, 2013 What's Good for Natural Gas May Not Be Good for Coal Natural gas production in West Virginia is expected to grow rapidly. As lawmakers plan for the future they may learn that policies for coal and gas may be at odds with each other. Read more in Sean's blog…
Budget Beat - August 23, 2013 Health Care Costs Rising, But Not As Quickly Health care costs continue to rise but at a slower rate than in the past, this according to a new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. In fact, annual increases in health care are at their lowest levels since the 1960s.…