Mineral Daily News-Tribune - The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy applauds the passage of the American Rescue Plan. This legislation is the kind of action the country needs at this moment, when unemployed workers are still struggling to pay their bills, millions of families are falling further behind on rent and at risk…
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The combination of tax changes in the Build Back Better bill recently approved by the House Ways and Means Committee would result in a tax cut for the average taxpayer in all income groups except the wealthiest 5 percent in West Virginia, according to a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.…
Charleston Gazette - Almost daily, stormy news surrounds West Virginia's coal industry. ReadAlpha Natural Resources notified 1,100 Mountain State miners of possible layoffs coming in mid-October. Earlier, Patriot Coal warned of 850 layoffs, and performed 75 of them so far. If all occur, several southern coal counties will suffer painfully.Thousands of miners and many politicians…
SB 387 is currently being considered by the West Virginia Senate. This bill would make applicants who test positive for drugs or refuse a drug test ineligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) assistance. Our new blog post from health policy analyst Rhonda Rogombé explains how such a policy choice would further stigma, harm vulnerable…
A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute looks at how many jobs could be lost in each state under the Republican health bill - the American Health Care Act. The AHCA - which would repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) - is like a zombie - it just does not seem to quite die.…
Two plans to eliminate West Virginia's state income tax are now under consideration, one proposed by Governor Justice and the other by the West Virginia House of Delegates. The two proposals differ significantly, but they both disproportionately benefit the wealthiest West Virginians and create vast holes in the state budget, necessitating massive, painful cuts to critical public services. The…
The WVCBP is excited to welcome Krysta Rexrode Wolfe to the team as our new operations and event coordinator! Before joining the WVCBP staff, Krysta served the state by leading faith communities in Morgantown and Charleston. Krysta brings a decade of administrative experience and a passion for advocacy to her work. She holds a B.A.…
In March 2023, the Charleston City Council approved a $111.6 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year.[1] Once again, the city dedicated one-fifth of its budget ($23.0 million) to uniformed Charleston Police officers for wages, benefits, pensions, insurance, and equipment.[2] Of the $12.3 million budgeted for wages, $2.6 million was allocated for overtime pay.[3] Read…
This month's New York Times article on business tax subsidies has attracted plenty of attention in West Virginia, as our state was listed as second in the nation with $857 per resident given out to attract businesses in the state. While state officials defended the state's use of tax incentives, Phil Kabler in Sunday's Gazette-Mail…
Several years ago, West Virginia enacted a series of large business tax cuts with the belief that they would help grow the state’s economy. Today policymakers are promoting that same theory, even though the previous tax cuts have largely failed to put West Virginia on a path to prosperity, with the state losing thousands of…