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February 12, 2015 by
Drug Testing Welfare Recipients – Wasteful and Unnecessary

West Virginia's legislature is moving forward with a costly and ineffective billย targeted at only the poorest West Virginians. The bill, SB 348, would create a three-county pilot program to begin drug testing recipients of cash assistance (a.k.a. WV Works/ TANF). The costs of the drug screening would be deducted from the TANF recipients' monthly check…

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October 7, 2011 by
Free Market Fantasy Friday

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.ย  As my…

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January 14, 2016 by
WVU “Right to Work” Study Flawed

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 reportย released today, a…

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September 19, 2024 by
Income Tax Cuts Driving Historic Revenue Decline

Governor Justice recently announced a special session to be held at the end of September to override tax cut triggers enacted as part of the 2023 tax law and slash taxes by an additional $114 million. As we highlighted recently, the proposal ignores realities and defies fiscal responsibility. While policymakers are still learning the full impact…

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January 13, 2017 by
Payday Lending-Free States Cry Foul over OCC “Fintech” Charter

For Immediate Release Contact: Linda Frame National "fintech" charter opens door to predatory payday lending The PaydayFreeLandia coalition, representing 15 states , plus the District of Columbia, demanded today that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) back off a dangerous plan that would gut their states' strong consumer protection laws. In a…

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September 24, 2015 by
Study Suggests Increase of Gas Severance Tax Would Benefit W.Va.

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…

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August 15, 2013 by
Where You Live Might Determine Your Health

Want to be healthier and live longer?ย  Then you might want to move to Aspen, Colorado, home of the healthiest county in the U.S.ย  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…

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August 14, 2013 by
West Virginia Should Extend CHIP Coverage to Public Employees

The passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) included a little-heralded provision to permit states to expand coverage of the Childrenโ€™s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to children of public employees. So far, at least seven states have benefited from allowing public employees to enroll their children in CHIP. If West Virginia were to adopt…

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March 27, 2013 by
IHS Study Shows Mountain State’s Small Share of Shale Boom

Last Wednesday, Jared Hunt with the Daily Mail reported that a new study by IHS Global Insight projects that West Virginia will see a huge boom in economic growth from unconventional oil and gas activity over the coming decades. According to an IHS Global Insight study, West Virginia's oil and natural gas industry accounted for…

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