Business Insider, Today UK News, Yahoo News, Good Word News - Congressional Democrats are scrambling to keep their $15 federal minimum wage proposal included in President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan this week as they face an unlikely obstacle: centrist members of their own party. Read the full article. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and…
Economy
Mountain State Spotlight - Desperate to attract jobs, West Virginia lawmakers made drastic tax cuts. The result was declining investment in education — and stagnant job growth. Read the full article. That was more than a decade ago. Now, faced with the same problem, state lawmakers want to do it again. Amid a pandemic that has…
Introduction The health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have had profound consequences for West Virginia families and communities, and structural and longstanding health and poverty challenges have been magnified. Before the crisis, West Virginia had the fourth highest poverty rate in the country and among the worst health outcomes and indicators. This made…
West Virginia MetroNews - A first bill aimed at refining the governor’s emergency powers is headed for a vote in the House of Delegates. Read the full article. For months, lawmakers have been watching Gov. Jim Justice’s use of CARES Act relief funding. West Virginia received $1.25 billion in federal relief, and Gov. Jim Justice…
Mountain State Spotlight, Times West Virginian - When Fairmont resident Nicole Turner found out that Gov. Jim Justice was still sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars of federal relief funds meant to help West Virginians who were struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said she didn’t know whether to cry or throw up. Read…
The New York Times - The wisecrack about West Virginia is that it can now have whatever it wants: fancy new highways, a federal installation or two, maybe a few extra grand per capita in stimulus checks. Read the full article. Joe Manchin, the state’s senior senator and a centrist Democrat, has swiftly become one…
WV Public Broadcasting - The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the economy across much of the world and the country, including West Virginia. But, economists are hopeful for recovery with the rollout of the vaccine, pointing to early signs of a rebound across several sectors and a prediction for full recovery to pre-pandemic levels next year. Read…
Last week's blog post explored how eliminating the income tax in West Virginia would overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy, and that replacing just half the revenue lost with an increased sales tax would result in a substantial tax shift, with low- and middle-income West Virginians seeing a tax increase in order to pay for a tax…
Public News Service - The new coronavirus stimulus bill will bring some food assistance to hungry Americans, and it couldn't come soon enough for West Virginia's families with children who aren't getting enough to eat during the pandemic. Read the full article. A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation found since March, 17% of families…
12WBOY, WOWK - A long-awaited $900 billion COVID-19 relief package is up in the air as Congress tries to make a decision to help millions of struggling Americans. Read the full article. Many people across the mountain state are relying on the money in that proposed package to stay afloat. “What relief? Honestly, the $600…