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…
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When lawmakers reconvene this spring to address the state’s looming budget crisis, it is clear that West Virginia should take a balanced approach that includes additional revenue, rather than a cuts-only approach that threatens our state’s struggling economy. Our state’s worsening revenue situation isn’t due entirely to plunging energy prices. Rather, that situation exacerbates the…
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…
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…
Charleston Daily Mail - The Legislature is looking to end free bargaining in West Virginia by adopting a so-called “right-to-work” law.The result would be cutting wages and benefits for the state’s working families. West Virginia already has the highest share of low-wage jobs in the country.The principle aim of right-to-work laws is to diminish the…
Want to be healthier and live longer? Then you might want to move to Aspen, Colorado, home of the healthiest county in the U.S. You'll also want to avoid our own McDowell County, one of the least healthy counties in the country. Every year, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Population Health Institute at…
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…
On Sunday, Gazette gossip columnist Phil Kabler pointed out that John Raese - a West Virginia Republican politician and owner of Greer Industries in Morgantown - "was No. 2 among the top 100 purchase card vendors in the state, making $12,998,945 off the state in 2012." The fact that Mr. Raese receives so much money from…
The State Journal published a piece by former WV Delegate Pat McGeehan where he says that the only way to create jobs in the Mountain State is "f Government Gets out of the Way." He lists the usual conservative/libertarian ideas of less regulation, protect private property, abolish the income tax, and decentralize government. As my…
WBOY, WOWK, MSN - President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that $10,000 in student debt will be canceled for Americans who make less than $125,000 annually, leaving a large percentage of West Virginia students debt free. Read the full article. According to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, a third of student loan borrowers in…