The WVCBP’s executive director, Kelly Allen, released the following statement in response to Governor Morrisey’s State of the State address.
“Governor Morrisey opened his remarks tonight by saying the future of West Virginia belongs to our children. But he went on to present a budget that fails to address many of the issues looming large for families with children across our state: an untenable number of neighborhood school closures, the rising costs of child care and groceries as wages fail to keep up, and fears about how federal funding cuts to education, Medicaid and SNAP will impact our families.
The budget Morrisey presented prioritizes an exploding Hope Scholarship and deeper tax cuts, both of which have been shown to benefit the state’s wealthiest households, over much needed investments in the public services available to us all. He said himself these budget priorities will create hard decisions for many years to come, while his administration’s six year plan shows growing budget deficits in upcoming years that will strain our ability to invest in PEIA, health care, infrastructure, and other needs.
The governor’s budget is just a starting point, and lawmakers and the public will have plenty of chances to weigh in and craft a budget that invests public dollars in public services rather than leveraging our children’s futures to benefit the wealthy few.
