WVCBP executive director Kelly Allen recently published an op-ed expressing support for the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan, both of which would provide much-needed support to hundreds of thousands of West Virginians simply by asking the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes. Excerpt below: A higher tax rate on about 1%…
Search Results
More than five months after the declaration of a national emergency due to COVID-19, legitimate concern is growing that the burden placed on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to comply with the excessive paperwork needed to maintain their food assistance benefits could be heightening food insecurity in West Virginia. Last spring, West Virginia applied…
In his Friday column, Paul Krugman points out that state expenditures for higher ed has fallen by 12 percent over the last five years after adjusting for inflation. Krugman highlights that one result of this disinvestment has been a 70 percent growth in inflation-adjusted tuition at public four-year colleges over the last decade. This got…
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) report, this new report revisits many of the same measures of well-being that ARC researchers examined a half-century ago. This analysis, however, focuses its attention on West Virginia, the one state that exists entirely within the federally designated Appalachian region, and, more…
West Virginia has long been at the forefront of the overdose epidemic in the US. Since 2010, its death rate per 100,000 by overdose of any type of drug has led the nation. Our new report both shows the heavy economic toll this crisis has on West Virginia as a whole and shines a spotlight on Kanawha County, the…
As MetroNews reported, the state Senate passed a state budget of $4.225 billion in General Revenue Fund spending for FY 2018. The budget contains deep cuts in Medicaid and higher education above and beyond what the governor proposed during the regular and special legislative session. The budget also relies on updated revenue estimates of $169.9…
Last week, Gov. Jim Justice stood on a stage with balloons, banners and giant scissors to celebrate what his team hailed as a historic revenue announcement. The announcement? State revenues hit a complicated trigger formula which will automatically reduce the personal income tax by about $80 million — resulting in an estimated extra 85 cents…
In Thursday's edition of the Charleston Gazette, gubernatorial candidate Bill Maloney echoed a familiar refrain, arguing that the state needs to reduce its business taxes to achieve economic growth, citing "supply-side economics." It's an issue I've discussed before, and the latest evidence continues to confirm that low business taxes are not associated with stronger economic growth, nor do they make…
Earlier this week, I voiced concern that the proposed spending cuts coming from the U.S. House of Representatives would threaten West Virginia's ability to meet important needs like education, environmental protection, and community development, while threatening the fragile economic recovery. Now a report prepared for Goldman Sachs confirms that the proposed spending cuts would hurt the economy,…
Contact: Sean O'Leary, 304-720-8682, soleary@wvpolicy.org, Stephen Smith, 304-610-6512, ssmith@wvhealthykids.org More than 320,000 West Virginians lived in poverty in 2012, including nearly 90,000 children, according to today's release of the 2012 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. The income and poverty data released show the continued struggle for thousands of families in West Virginia. Read…