WVCBP in the News

November 26, 2012 by Sean O'Leary
State Looks at Work-Sharing to Ease Layoffs

West Virginia Public News Service - During interim legislative meetings this week, state lawmakers will look at voluntary work-sharing. Instead of laying off employees when they need to cut costs, employers could collaborate with the unemployment-insurance system to keep people working at reduced hours. Read Sean O'Leary, a policy analyst with the West Virginia Center…

Read More
November 20, 2012 by Ted Boettner
States Eye Trusts for New Oil, Gas Revenue

USA Today - The liberal West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy did a study of how a permanent fund would benefit the state. "I kept thinking to myself, 'We need something like Alaska,'" says executive director Ted Boettner. Read

Read More
November 20, 2012 by WVCBP
Weak Economies Lead to Income Inequality

Charleston Daily Mail - The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities recently released a study showing widening inequality between the richest and poorest residents in each of these United States. Read West Virginia ranked seventh in the nation for the largest growth in "income inequality" over the last several decades. In the mid-2000s, the richest…

Read More
November 20, 2012 by Ted Boettner
Fracking Boom Gains Momentum

USA Today - "Fracking is happening and it's not going to stop, so we have to take the high road of good regulation and taxes so communities are better off, not worse off, after it's done," says Ted Boettner, executive director of the liberal West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Read

Read More
November 18, 2012 by Ted Boettner
Patriot’s Move Away from MTR Another Sign of Coal’s Decline

Sunday Gazette-Mail - Ted Boettner, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said the Patriot announcement is more evidence that the state needs to focus on planning an economic transition as the coal industry declines. Read "The decision highlights the fragility of our state's economy and the urgent need to take…

Read More
November 16, 2012 by WVCBP
Study: West Virginia Income Gap Has Widened

The income gap between West Virginia's richest and poorest residents has widened dramatically over the past few decades, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. West Virginia had the seventh largest increase in income inequality in the nation between the late 1970s and the mid-2000s,…

Read More
November 16, 2012 by WVCBP
Wealth and Income Gap Growing Quickly

West Virginia Public News Service – A new study based on census figures shows the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow quickly. Analysts say it's becoming a serious issue for the economy as a whole. Stuart Frazier, an analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, says the figures show…

Read More
November 15, 2012 by WVCBP
Tomblin’s Office Mum on Insurance Exchange

Charleston Gazette - Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is expected to scrap West Virginia's plans to establish a state-run health insurance exchange, a key component of President Obama's federal health-care law, according to public health advocates and state lawmakers. Tomblin has until Friday to notify the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services whether West Virginia…

Read More
November 15, 2012 by WVCBP
Report: Widening Income Gap Leaving Poor Behind

The State Journal - A proverb that goes "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" is proving true in West Virginia, according to one study. The study released this morning by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that West Virginia's poorest residents are seeing a decline…

Read More
November 14, 2012 by Ted Boettner
Editorial: Cuts to Child-Care Program Jeopardize Working Families

Huntington Herald-Dispatch - A policy research organization raises some valid points regarding West Virginia's cuts to child-care assistance for lower-income families. The bottom line, according to a new report by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, is that the reductions will jeopardize those residents' ability to keep their jobs or continue their schooling.…

Read More