Despite a report this week projecting growth in coal mining jobs a decade from now, long-term trends in the coal industry will push miner salaries down and make the need to diversify Appalachia's economy beyond coal greater than ever. The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy released a report last week showing that projected declines…
WVCBP in the News
National Public Radio -- Facing competition from cheap natural gas, coal producer Alpha Natural Resources said it's cutting production by 16 million tons and eliminating 1,200 jobs companywide. The cuts include 400 jobs with the immediate closing of eight mines in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Listen to the NPR segment
The Floyd County Times -- The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy released a report last week showing that projected declines in productivity will lead to more mining jobs after 2020. However, looking at the big picture, this is not the good news it appears to be at first glance. Read
Washington Times -- The tumble for coal is not projected to stop, according to an economic report released in September by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. The report suggests that coal jobs are up for now, according to Executive Director Ted Boettner, but the long-term projections are not good. Read
West Virginia Public Radio -- Glynis Board had this conversation with Boettner about the fifth and latest report that was released earlier this month, subtitled: In Depth: The Gas Boom and Coal Bust. Read
Associated Press (via Charleston Daily Mail) -- A report by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy suggests the state is likely to continue losing coal industry jobs through 2020. Read Also reported in Beckley Register-Herald and Marietta Times and WJAC-TV
The Charleston Gazette -- Appalachian coal jobs are expected to decline over the next dozen years, but could rebound and even increase after 2020 as mine production stabilizes at lower levels, according to a new analysis by the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy. Read
Charleston Daily Mail -- On Tuesday, lawmakers heard a presentation from the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy that criticized the state for failing to ensure tax credits were being used for their intended purpose. Read
The State Journal -- West Virginia's tax credits — or tax expenditures, as Ted Boettner would prefer they be called — may or may not be a bad thing. Read
The Charleston Gazette -- Ted Boettner, Executive Director of the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy, said state and local governments give business tax breaks -- valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars -- every year. But the state doesn't determine whether the incentives are working. Read