Charleston Gazette-Mail, Daily Advent - Since the coronavirus pandemic began, we at the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy have been soliciting stories from people all across the state to hear how various issues — unemployment insurance changes, challenges accessing child care, food insecurity, lack of paid leave and more — have affected their…
OpEds
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Every June, the United States and the world uplift and celebrate the LGBTQ community — their history, their achievements, their identities and more — through Pride Month. Read the full op-ed. But at its core, Pride Month is about advocacy. It is about queer folks fighting for sociopolitical autonomy, acceptance and freedom.…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - This past weekend marked the end of West Virginia’s participation in federally enhanced unemployment programs, enacted to address joblessness in the wake of the pandemic, and, now, thousands of struggling West Virginians are losing crucial supports regardless of whether good-paying jobs are available to them. Read the full article. This short-sighted decision…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Over the past year, the pandemic and our nation’s response have highlighted some of the flaws in our antiquated federal-state unemployment insurance system. Read the full op-ed. The CARES Act addressed some of these well-recognized problems, particularly through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which provides unemployment benefits to people who do…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - West Virginia’s bridges, dams, drinking water, roads and wastewater have received a D grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers, and 24% of the state’s residents live in a broadband desert. Furthermore, 54% live in a child care desert and 19% of children in the state live in poverty. Read the…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - The pandemic has shone a bright light on longstanding needs of families in West Virginia and across the country — needs that, when unaddressed, make families less financially secure, slow our economy and widen the gap between the richest in our country and everyone else. Read the full op-ed. The COVID-19 relief…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - The past year has been a difficult one for our state’s families, businesses and communities. West Virginians are resilient and hard-working, but we still need to work together to emerge from the pandemic. Read the full op-ed. That’s where government can be most helpful: meeting and solving big challenges together that no…
Martinsburg Journal - Over the last 40 years female incarceration in West Virginia has exploded, growing by a staggering 2,731 percent from 1978 to 2019. Over the same period, the state’s population has declined by nearly seven percent. What could explain such exponential growth in female incarceration as our overall population has declined? Read the…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Since the pandemic began, America’s billionaires have grown their wealth by a staggering $1 trillion. At the same time, families in West Virginia and across the country are facing increasing hardship and difficulty meeting their basic needs as the health and economic effects of COVID-19 drag on. Read the full article. In…
Beckley Register-Herald - Today, the Supreme Court of the United States will take up a case that could upend our health care system. California v. Texas, a lawsuit brought by 18 state Attorneys General including West Virginia’s Patrick Morrisey, seeks to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA). Read the full article. If all or…