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Today'sย newsย that Shell Oil Company has chosen a site in Pennsylvania as the location for their new cracker facility comes after months of competition between PA, WV, and OH over which state would land the cracker, with each state offering a variety of incentives. (A "cracker facility" converts ethane from naturalย gas liquids into more profitable chemicals…
Gazette-Mail - The Senate has passed a bill that would, among other things, require an asset test for food-stamp recipients. Read.
Charleston Gazette-Mail - A billย that would have imposed an asset test on food stamp recipients in West Virginia is effectively dead for the legislative session, a lobbyist who's been working against the legislation said. Read.
It's time to eliminate the asset test for Medicaid and TANF. Right now low-income West Virginians are required to spend down their assets like retirement accounts before they can qualify for financial assistance like Medicaid. Families are depleting resources that could help in the long-term so they can qualify for short-term assistance. Many other states…
As the Gazette reported on Wednesday, the WV Department of Highways is pushing a bill to study the feasibility of replacing or supplementing the motor fuel tax with a vehicle miles traveled (VMT)ย tax to help address the declining State Road Fund revenue which is partly due to more fuel efficient vehicles. The VMT tax…
This past Friday we talked about the illusions that some people have about the role of government in the "free market." Another wrinkle in the free market mythology is how the federal government supports what Alexander Hamilton called "infant industries" with direct investments, subsidies and tariffs. This is especially true when it comes to the…
WCHS - An annual report showing tracking state trends in child well-being recently ranked West Virginia 48th in education. Read the full article. The Kids Count Data Book released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation showed rates of absenteeism and proficiencies in reading and math lower than the national average. "The data book this year…
Daily Athenaeum - The Biden Administration launched a beta version of its student loan relief program late Friday night, allowing borrowers to submit applications before the website is officially launched later this month. Read the full article. Thousands of students at West Virginia University could see some level of loan forgiveness as part of the federal…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Over objections from social workers, anti-poverty advocates and psychologists, a push to mandate drug testing for welfare recipients is racing toward final passage in the West Virginia Legislature. ReadState lawmakers are backing legislation (SB 6) that would require drug tests for about 4,000 adults who apply for cash assistance through the Temporary…