Economy

December 14, 2021 by Sean O'Leary
Life Can Be Tough for Kids in Many Anti-abortion States

CNN, Kake - Almost all of the states that produce the most unfavorable economic and health care outcomes for children are among those poised to ban or severely restrict access to abortion if the Supreme Court overturns the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision. Read the full article. That pattern underscores the paradox that the states most…

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December 7, 2021 by WVCBP
Statehouse Beat: Justice Self-Deludes on Virus Claims

Charleston Gazette-Mail - I've covered the state budget process long enough to know that budget surpluses are better than budget deficits, so November tax collections of $435.6 million, $88.03 million above projections, is good news. Read the full article.

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December 2, 2021 by Sean O'Leary
Severance Taxes, Stimulus Funds, Timing Boost November State Revenue Collections

Charleston Gazette-Mail, Huntington Herald-Dispatch - Bolstered by another month of strong severance tax collection, the ongoing influx of billions of dollars of federal pandemic stimulus funds and plain old good timing, West Virginia tax collection for November came in at $435.6 million, or $88.03 million higher than projected, figures released by the Senate Finance Committee…

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November 29, 2021 by Seth DiStefano
Gov. Justice has a Month to Spend $127 Million in CARES Act Funds, but Won’t Say if He has a Plan

Mountain State Spotlight, Beckley Register-Herald - It was October 2020. And with each passing day, the COVID-19 pandemic escalated. Read the full article. West Virginians’ suffering extended beyond sickness and death. The virus had dealt a powerful economic blow, with many state residents struggling to meet their basic needs. With the coming winter, that struggle…

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November 18, 2021 by Sean O'Leary
Inflation Concerns are No Reason to Scale Back the Build Back Better Agenda

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the overall year-over-year inflation rate in October was 6.2 percent, a notably high rate. While there are many reasons to believe that inflation will ease in the coming months, some, including West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, are arguing that current high rates of inflation are not…

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October 26, 2021 by Sean O'Leary
Five Scary Charts About West Virginia in 2021

It's Halloween week -- time to get spooky! Who needs ghost stories when you have spine-tingling bars and trend lines? Here are five ghoulish charts about West Virginia in 2021 that will make your bones rattle and your blood curdle. At the beginning of the pandemic, West Virginia lost an unprecedented 101,000 jobs as total…

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October 25, 2021 by Sean O'Leary
Investing in West Virginia to Create Opportunities and Renew Our State

This blog post, co-authored by the Keystone Research Center's executive director Stephen Herzenberg and the WVCBP’s senior policy analyst Sean O'Leary, was originally published by the ReImagine Appalachia coalition. West Virginia is at the center of the national political storm surrounding the need to invest in infrastructure, in families, and in combating climate change. Notably, West Virginia…

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