This week, Governor Justice called for a special session to consider yet another attempt to cut the state's income tax. Like previous failed attempts over the past few years, this latest plan would lead to major revenue losses for the state, while giving most of the tax cut to wealthy West Virginians. The personal income…
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Much of the conversation on record job losses in West Virginia over the past five weeks has centered on our state’s unemployment insurance system, and with good reason. According to Governor Justice and WorkForce WV, at least 130,000 residents have filed initial unemployment claims since school closures and stay-at-home orders began, and that figure does…
At the WVCBP, we are tracking policy changes and flexibilities that impact the ability of West Virginians to utilize the safety net during the COVID-19 crisis. This post highlights changes to Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps) and TANF, as well as additional flexibilities in state and federal law that West Virginia should utilize to improve access…
For all the talk of West Virginia’s comeback, the reality for families is still incredibly challenging. Parents can’t go back to work if they don’t have a safe place for their kids to go for child care. The success of our comeback will depend in part on mitigating the economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis…
The latest State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed West Virginia had the highest job openings rate in the country, at 9.2 percent and with 71,000 job openings. While there has been much discussion about legislation to cut unemployment benefits in an attempt to "get people back…
This week the Senate introduced SJR 9, or the Just Cut Taxes and Win Amendment. SJR 9 would call for a constitutional amendment to eliminate the business personal property tax for certain industries. As you might tell from the title of the resolution, this is the state’s latest effort to spur job and economic growth…
Reforms needed to ensure greater fiscal responsibility and promote public trust Contact: Ted Boettner, 304-720-8682, tboettner@wvpolicy.org West Virginia should make improvements to the way it estimates revenues in order to create a more fiscally responsible budget, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In the report's evaluation of how…
Contact: Ted Boettner or Linda Frame at 304-720-8682 or lframe@wvpolicy.org 350,000 people in West Virginia will see a cut in their food assistance benefits this fall, when a temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) is set to expire, according to new data released by the U.S. Department…
Source: www.wvminesafety.org/historicprod.htmand http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/txt/stb0702.xls
Contact: Ted Boettner, 304-720-8682, tboettner@wvpolicy.org While the West Virginia legislature considers whether or not to increase the state's minimum wage, a new report shows that the state's top 1% of income earners captured over half of all the state's income growth between 1979 and 2007. According to "The Increasingly Unequal States of America: Income Inequality…