Charleston Gazette-Mail - All too often, public policy debates get couched between those who favor government intervention in the market and those who do not. When it comes to economic issues, the framing is usually that conservatives favor less government or the “free market” while progressives want government solutions and non-market outcomes. This framing is…
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Charleston Gazette-Mail - A House of Delegates plan to phase out the state’s personal income tax, the state’s largest source of general revenue at about $2.1 billion a year, will be on passage stage in the House Friday. Read the full article. A counterpoint to Gov. Jim Justice’s proposal to initially cut income tax rates…
SPI 2022 THEME: Growing a West Virginia that Works for Everyone July 28–30, 2022 The 2020 Census results revealed that West Virginia experienced more population loss than any other state in the nation between 2010 and 2020. During this year’s SPI, we will create space for our participants to explore what it might take to…
West Virginia's free community college bill continues to move through the legislature. While the bill in its current form is fairly limited in who it applies to, it is worth revisiting the question of what it would take to provide free tuition to all of West Virginia's in-state college students, and how that cost compares…
For Immediate ReleaseContact Ted Boettner at 304-720-8682(Charleston, WV) West Virginia legislators debating on whether or not to make West Virginia the next so-called "Right to Work" (RTW) state are relying on a flawed report from West Virginia University. Read PDF of news release. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in a report released today, a…
In Sunday's Gazette-Mail, John E. Pauley, the executive director of the West Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, wrote an op-ed making several dubious claims about the state of retirement security in West Virginia and about the proposed Voluntary Employee Retirement Accounts (VERA) program that is being supported by AARP. For…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy has released a study suggesting that raising the state's severance tax on natural gas liquids could increase revenue and help West Virginia profit from the use of the liquids in state. ReadThe study, which was released by the center on Wednesday, lays out a…
West Virginia joins states around the country in moving towards free higher education, with SB 284, the free community college bill supported by Governor Justice and Senate President Carmichael. The "WV Invest Grant" program would provide a grant offsetting tuition for eligible students who enroll in one of the state's two year colleges. The grant…
Contact: Ted Boettner, 304-720-8682, tboettner@wvpolicy.org Charleston, WV — Drilling in the six states that span the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations has produced far fewer new jobs than the industry and its supporters claim, according to a new report released today by the Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative, a group of research organizations tracking the impacts…
Huntington Herald-Dispatch - The new Republican Legislature is looking to end free bargaining in West Virginia by adopting a so-called "right-to-work" (RTW) law that aims to cut wages and benefits for the state's working families. ReadThis is the last thing West Virginia needs. The state already has the highest share of low-wage jobs in the…