Contact: Stephen Smith, 304-610-6512, ssmith@wvhealthykids.org Ted Boettner, 304-720-8682 or 304-590-3454 (cell), tboettner@wvpolicy.org $1 in Early Childhood Investment Returns $7 in Reduced Crime Rates, Better Employment (Charleston, WV) While West Virginia has successfully reduced the number of its low-income senior citizens over the past 40 years, its number of children living in poverty has grown and…
News Releases
Contact: Anne Singer, 202-299-1066, ext. 27 or Ted Boettner, 304-720-8682, tboettner@wvpolicy.org Read report New 50-State Study Provides Detailed Profiles and Comparisons of Tax Systems and Distribution Like most state tax systems, West Virginia takes a larger share from middle- and low-income families than from wealthy families, according to the fourth edition of "Who Pays? A…
Contact: Stuart Frazer, 304-720-8682 or sfrazier@wvpolicy.org Low-Income Families Fall Further Behind –The income gap that separates West Virginia's top wage earners from the rest of the state's households has widened dramatically over the past few decades, according to a study released today by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.…
Contact: Ted Boettner, 304-720-8682 or 304-590-3454 (cell), tboettner@wvpolicy.org Read report Report Also Explores Structure and Importance of Child Care Assistance –Every day in West Virginia, thousands of working families rely on public child care assistance so they can keep the jobs they need to support their families while also providing a safe and reliable environment…
Contact: Sean O'Leary at 304-720-8682, soleary@wvpolicy.org Read report New Report Highlights the Need for Transparency and Evaluation of Tax Incentives –West Virginia spends millions of dollars each year on tax incentives to attract businesses and boost job creation, but taxpayers and policymakers have little information about whether or not they are getting their money's worth and…
In addition to the high unemployment that has plagued West Virginia since the end of the recession, today's release of the 2011 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau shows hundreds of thousands of West Virginia children continued to live in poverty throughout the state. Read
There are more West Virginians living in poverty and trying to survive without health care, according to data released today from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey. Read
While the state slowly recovers from the Great Recession, struggles remain. There is only one job opening for every four people looking for work, the state has the lowest workforce participation rate in the nation, and West Virginia workers earn, on average, one dollar less an hour than the national average. Raising the minimum wage,…
If the federal government increased the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.80 per hour it would give an estimated 182,000 workers in West Virginia a raise while also generating approximately 800 new jobs over three years, $300 million in additional wages, and $200 million in state economic activity. This according to a new report released…
If significant new revenue isn't included, efforts to reduce federal deficits would almost certainly damage West Virginia's economic recovery and future economic growth by drastically cutting federal investments in schools, roads and bridges, safe communities, and disaster relief. Read