WVCBP in the News

December 13, 2012 by Sean O'Leary
Official Defends State Tax Incentives

Charleston Daily Mail - Secretary Keith Burdette defended the state's use of tax credits to attract businesses to the state before lawmakers Wednesday. Read Speaking to a joint meeting of the Legislature's Joint Commission on Economic Development and Joint Committee on Finance, Burdette criticized a recent New York Times report for creating a "woefully inaccurate…

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December 11, 2012 by Sean O'Leary
Severance Tax Revenues to Remain Stable, Growing

The State Journal - Despite hand wringing over the future of the coal industry, a West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy analysis projects relatively stable severance tax collections. The analysis was written by Sean O'Leary, an analyst with the nonprofit think tank. Read The decline of coal, O'Leary wrote in a report posted Tuesday,…

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December 7, 2012 by Sean O'Leary
Married To Coal: Markets Driving Cultural Change

The State Journal - A recent analysis by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy indicated that production declines may not translate to employment declines directly. Miner productivity is expected to fall, meaning producing the same levels of coal will take more man-hours. Read "In fact, there may be 10,000 more coal jobs in…

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December 7, 2012 by Sean O'Leary
Bad News/Good News on Disconnected Young People

West Virginia Public News Service - The bad news is that West Virginia has a high rate of unemployed youth not in school. The good news is there are things that can be done about it.  Read

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December 3, 2012 by Ted Boettner
Physician Urges Tomblin to Take Medicaid Expansion Opportunity

A longtime physician with the New River Health Association in Fayette County is asking Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin to "take full advantage of the Medicaid expansion opportunity available under the Affordable Care Act of 2010." Read The West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy, based in Charleston, estimates that maximum participation in Medicaid expansion would…

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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…

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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

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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…

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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

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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…

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