WVCBP in the News in 2011
Fewer earmarks could hurt W.Va.'s growth
December 31, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- Economic development in West Virginia faces serious challenges, as the state has lost much of its ability to get federal funds through "earmarks" backed by two former veteran members of Congress, according to a recent report co-authroed by WVCBP. Read
State more agressive in cracker bid
December 22, 2011, Charleston Daily Mail -- West Virginia officials have announced a plan that would cut property taxes for a cracker by a half billion dollars over the next three decades. Ted Boettner, the executive director of the Center for Budget and Policy, questioned whether taxes would be the deciding factor. Read
State lacks jobs, not skilled workers, report says
December 21, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- A new report from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy says that West Virginia's unemployment rate -- now at its lowest in more than two years -- has remained high because of a lack of jobs, not of skilled workers. Read
House rejects payroll tax break, unemployment extension
December 21, 2011, Public News Service -- According to Sean O'Leary, policy analyst at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, the payroll tax cut last year really helped reverse some of the slowing down of the economy, kept it from slipping back into recession. Read
Unemployment benefits play 'critical role' in keeping W.Va. families above poverty line
December 17, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- Paul Miller, a research analyst for the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy, said, "Unemployment benefits play a critical role in keeping jobless workers and their families from entering poverty as the cash assistance they receive is quickly spent on immediate needs such as rent, utilities, insurance and food." Read
W.Va. rated low on development subsidies
December 14, 2011, The Herald-Dispatch -- West Virginia scored a D-plus on a national study on economic development subsidies, according to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Read
Report ranks W.Va. low in economic development subsidies
December 14, 2011, The State Journal -- A report card study published Wednesday by Good Jobs First, a non-profit, non-partisan research center ranks West Virginia low in providing subsidies for economic development. The West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy issued a news release with the report's findings, which scored West Virginia 39 out of 100 for a grade of D+. Read
Report urges increase in severance taxes
December 13, 2011, The Charleston-Gazette -- West Virginia could improve its financial picture by strengthening severance taxes on coal and natural gas, according to a report released Thursday by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Read
Analysts say severance tax essential to W.Va.’s future
December 13, 2011, The State Journal -- A new report from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy finds that strengthening the state's severance tax would be the most ideal way for the state to take advantage of natural resource wealth. Read
Medicaid changes coming – good for state, but budget issues remain
December 8, 2011, Public News Service -- Renate Pore, health policy director with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, expects the expansion to boost the state's economy. Read
Jay believes payroll tax cuts won't hurt Social Security
December 7, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- "The positive impacts of extending the payroll tax cuts far outweigh any concerns about taxing millionaires or the Social Security Trust Fund," Boettner said. Read
Six important facts about payroll tax
December 7, 2011, WTRF TV -- About 900,000 people in West Virginia are benefiting from the current payroll tax cut, which will have provided roughly $500 million in tax relief in 2011 and about $1,000 a year in extra take home pay. Read
OPEB debate finds common ground
December 7, 2011, The State Journal --When Executive Director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy discussed the state's Other Post Employment Benefits liability with Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, the two found lots to agree on. Read
Report: America -- not as broke as you'd think
December 2, 2011, Public News Service -- Federal figures and analysis by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy suggest more West Virginians depend on those programs [Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security] than residents of almost any other state. Read
Energy regulation a delicate balance between health and economy
November 30, 2011, The State Journal -- Ted Boettner, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said regulations may not necessarily benefit the economy, but there is very little evidence that regulations hurt the economy either. Read
Federal budget deadlines stacking up, this year and next
November 23, 2011, Public News Service -- According to the West Virginia Center On Budget and Policy Priorities, the state has one of the highest rates of citizens using Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Read
Broadband pays in rural areas
November 18, 2011, Public News Service -- Empirical studies have compared rural communities that have better broadband with those which have less, says Paul Miller, policy outreach director for the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. They show compelling results in places with more broadband, he says. Read
Why rural counties should tax the 1%
November 16, 2011, Knoxville Metro Pulse -- Ted Boettner, a policy analyst, wants West Virginia to raise its mineral severance tax from 5 to 6 percent and use the added revenue to start a trust fund. Read
Group pitches tax plan
November 16, 2011, The Dominion Post -- Severance taxes are good. Higher severance taxes are better. States that lower their severance taxes see their revenues drop -- with no accompanying increase in mineral production. So, use the income to benefit the state. A trust fund is a good way to do it. That's what two representatives of the nonprofit West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy (WVCBP) told a joint finance subcommittee Tuesday afternoon. Read
Analysts look at W.Va. severance tax burden differently
November 15, 2011, The State Journal -- Executive Director Ted Boettner and Policy Analyst Sean O'Leary cited other factors like resource location, worker availability, wage expenses and other factors as more influential on business location than severance taxes. Read
Missing the perfect chance to build schools in West Virginia?
November 7, 2011, Public News Service -- Ted Boettner, executive director of the Center, says taxpayers could save millions of dollars on things they're going to have to pay for anyway by acting now when the market is right. Read
West Virginia economy: Revenues up, jobs down
November 4, 2011 -- According to a report from the liberal West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy, using data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state ended the summer with 1,100 fewer jobs by September 2011. Read
Jobs lost in W.Va., report says
November 1, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- After consistently adding jobs during the early months of 2011, non-farm jobs in West Virginia dropped by 1,100 between June and September. Coal mining and logging jobs increased by 300 in September, while public sector jobs rose by 1,400. But other sectors of the economy lost jobs, particularly the transportation and utilities, as well as professional and business services, according to the September issue of Jobs Count, a monthly newsletter published by the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy. Read
Standoff possible in Charleston inequality protest
October 31, 2011, Public News Service -- Protesters describe themselves as the voice of the 99 percent of the population falling behind as the gap between the rich and poor increases. According to Ted Boettner, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, working people have had to struggle harder and harder over the last 30 years just to keep what they've got. Read
Industry says middle class principal owners of natural gas companies
October 27, 2011, The State Journal -- A new study says policies to increase taxes on oil and natural gas companies may be just as harmful to the middle class as top executives, but Ted Boettner said the study overlooks some other very important statistics. Read
W.Va. analysts disagree about states’ natural gas taxation
October 20, 2011, WOWK-TV -- The Center on Budget and Policy took issue with the Marshall Univeristy natural gas study “The number of taxes and their statutory rates tells us little about an industry’s particular tax burden,” CBP said. Read
Officials say gas study doesn't measure up
October 19, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- WVCBP says that Marshall study does not tell the whole story in terms of the natural gas severance tax. Read
Getting the right information on Marcellus Shale
October 18, 2011, Sustained Outrage Blog -- WVCBP says simply comparing basic tax rate is not enough. Read
Agency offers help to nonprofits, policy-makers
October 7, 2011, Huntington Herald-Dispatch -- Be it West Virginia workforce data, state tax issues, health care information or poverty statistics, the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy has research to help policy-makers in their decision-making, and nonprofits who want to champion a cause. Read
State poverty growing concern
October 2, 2011, Martinsburg Journal -- Some folks, including Ted Boettner, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, think state leaders should be spending more time addressing the state's increasing number of people living below the poverty level. Read
Coal industry puts blame on regulations
September 29, 2011, Beckley Register-Herald -- According to the Downstream Strategies report, a collaboration with West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, coal’s cost actually at times outweighs the benefits it provides. Read
Labor, civic, and faith groups: Rebuild WV bridges to rebuild economy
September 28, 2011, Public News Service -- According to economists, spending on infrastructure stimulates the economy four times as much as do tax cuts. WVCBP's Sean O'Leary says this an excellent time to invest. Read
Poverty rate increases in area
September 26, 2011, Bluefield Daily Telegraph -- More than 21,000 people in Bluefield and surrounding areas are living in poverty according to a study released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Read
State poverty rate up
September 26, 2011, Charleston Daily Mail -- About 326,000 West Virginians lived in poverty in 2010, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Read
Report: Minorities’ health in W.Va. dismal
September 24, 2011, Beckley Register-Herald -- Multiple sources have repeatedly identified West Virginia as one of the most unhealthy states in the nation, and within its borders, minority populations suffer even more than the state as a whole. Read
22K locals are living in poverty
September 23, 2011, The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register -- Day after day, the line for free meals at the Catholic Neighborhood Center gets longer, as some of the 21,997 impoverished people throughout the Wheeling area seek assistance. Read
MU panel focuses on open government issues
September 22, 2011, WVNS-TV -- Despite the spread of the Internet, many important government records are still not readily accessible for citizens and journalists to view online. Read
Panelists discuss keys to open government
September 22, 2011, The Herald-Dispatch -- Educating the public and governments using more technology are two keys to open government and public access, according to panel held Wednesday as part of Marshall University's celebration of Constitution Week. Read
W.Va. jobless rate expected to worsen
September 20, 2011 -- Charleston Daily-Mail -- West Virginia's unemployment
is expected to rise in coming months and won't begin falling significantly
until 2013, according to a new forecast from Moody's Analytics.
Read
As Associated Press article also reported at
Houston Chronicle,
State Journal,
WTOV Steubenville,
The Republic,
WVVA Bluefield
Ten months into state's top health job, DHHR chief focused on prevention
September 17, 2011, Sunday Gazette-Mail -- When he was a small boy in Raleigh County, Mike Lewis often woke in the dark, choking with an asthma attack. Read
Editorial, Sept. 15, 2011: Poverty crisis is worsening
September 14, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- While national politicians play throat-cutting campaign games, working-class America sinks ever-deeper into poverty and helplessness. Read
Report shows poverty rate in West Virginia on the rise
September 14, 2011, Beckley Register-Herald -- In the past two years, the U.S. Census Bureau reports, the percentage of West Virginians in poverty rose from 15.8 percent to 16.9 percent. Read
New census data shows uninsured numbers decrease
September 13, 2011, The State Journal -- More West Virginians are living in poverty, but more residents have health insurance, according to new Census Bureau data released Tuesday and summarized by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Read
Income down, poverty up, census shows
September 13, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- On Tuesday morning, the U.S. Census Bureau released new data updated with information gathered last year in its national census. Read
Economists: State government austerity causing double-dip risk
September 8, 2011, Public News Service -- Last month's national job figures show that 17,000 jobs were created by private businesses, but they were offset by 17,000 public employee layoffs. Economists say that's a coincidence, but no accident. Read
Crude, coal far from cruel
September 7, 2011, Elkins Inter-Mountain -- West Virginia has been spared some of the unemployment pain of the economic downturn by some of the very industries President Barack Obama dislikes. Read
Baby boomers affect state labor force
September 5, 2011, Charleston Daily Mail -- West Virginia's labor force is getting smaller and older — and is set to decrease significantly in coming decades should current trends continue. Read
Think tank sizes up W.Va. employment
September 4, 2011, Associated Press -- A report by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy concludes the state would have to add 20,300 jobs to regain its pre-recession employment rate. Read Also reported in the Danbury News Times and elsewhere.
Report says economic recovery elusive in state
September 3, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- Unemployed workers in West Virginia will have little to celebrate on Labor Day this year. Read
Report: WV battered by recession but poised to make “real progress”
September 2, 2011, Public News Service -- West Virginia did a lot to dodge the worst impact of the Great Recession, according to the annual State of Working West Virginia report. In spite of stubbornly high unemployment, the report finds, the state is poised to spring forward. Read
Dee Fulton: Let's get gas drilling rules right
August 25, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- In recognition of the urgency of the Marcellus Shale situation, in May 2011 a Department of Energy Natural Gas Subcommittee was given 90 days to identify any immediate steps that can be taken to improve the safety and environmental performance of fracking. Read
About the jobs: Is there a war on coal?
August 22, 2011, The Charleston Gazette (Coal Tatoo) -- The Daily Mail’s Jared Hunt had an interesting story this morning. Headlined, “State jobs data less than positive,” the story explained that despite a drop in unemployment, the number of West Virginians working or looking for work has dropped to its lowest level since 1993. Read
West Virginia authorities react to 11th Circuit decision
August 15, 2011, WTRF-TV -- After the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta struck down a mandate in the national health care plan forcing citizens to purchase and maintain health insurance, many West Virginia authorities say it’s not the end for health care reform. Read
Gas industry boom, gloom and doom
August 1, 2011, Morgantown Dominion-Post via Charleston Daily Mail -- More jobs, more spending, more tax revenue. Those are the buzz words of the Marcellus boom -- the bright side of the broken roads, alarmed environmentalists, distressed surface owners. Read
Making it last
July 27, 2011, Wetzel Chronicle -- The article on page 5A about a report from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy about how energy development has affected West Virginia’s economy and way of life in the past was of particular note to us this week. Read
Report warns shale boom may be a bust for W.Va.
July 22, 2011, Beckley Register-Herald -- While much of the focus of the Marcellus shale debate has been economics versus the environment, until now, few have researched what may happen in the wake of a natural gas boom in West Virginia. Read
If coal is so good, then why is W.Va. so poor?
July 22, 2011, The Charleston Gazette (Coal Tatoo) -- As we wrap up another week of news from the coalfields of West Virginia, it’s worth looking back to see exactly who is asking the tough questions that need to be asked about this industry and its impacts on our state. Read
Energy trust fund could help communities
July 22, 2011, HuntingtoNews.net -- As policymakers debate regulating Marcellus Shale gas drilling, the state needs to protect itself from the booms and busts of energy development that have left many counties with undiversified economies, a less educated workforce and poorer health outcomes. This is according to a new report by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, “Booms and Busts: The Impact of West Virginia’s Energy Economy”, that looks at the impacts of the cyclical nature of the energy sector on the state’s economy and mining counties. Read
Report urges long-term view on coal, gas industries
July 21, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- Coal mining and natural gas drilling offer industry employees a major economic boost -- as long as those resources last, according to a study released on Thursday by the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy. Read
Beware the Marcellus Shale gas boom?
July 21, 2011, The Charleston Gazette Blog. A new report from the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy offers some cautions about the much-touted boom in oil and gas drilling in our state. Read
AARP: "Hands Off" Social Security and Medicare
July 14, 2011, Public News Service -- AARP leaders from West Virginia and across the nation are in Washington this week, urging members of Congress to keep Medicare and Social Security off the table in the heated talks about raising the nation's debt ceiling. Read
Primary care doctor shortage in WV: Better than most states
June 24, 2011, Public News Service -- The United States will face a severe shortage of primary-care doctors by 2020, especially in rural areas, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. However, West Virginia is doing better than most states - and Renate Pore, health-policy director for the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, credits government programs and efforts by the state's medical schools. Read
Private sector best job creator
June 23, 2011 The Intelligencer/ Wheeling News-Register -- West Virginians have maintained for years that if government would just leave our economy alone, we'd be just fine. President Barack Obama and liberals in Congress reject that philosophy. Our state's keystone industry, coal, needs to be destroyed, Obama and company think. Read
Medicaid cuts would threaten state jobs, group says
June 22, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- West Virginia would lose as many as 10,800 health-care jobs in the next 10 years if the Senate were to pass the deep Medicaid cuts the House of Representatives has already approved, according to a report released Wednesday by the health-care consumer group Families USA. Read
State employment up slightly, but still feeling effects of recession
June 20, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- West Virginia's total employment has risen slightly this year, by 900 jobs, but the state has 11,700 fewer jobs than it did at the end of 2007, according to a new monthly report published by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Read
State lawmakers consider tax trust fund
June 14, 2011, Charleston Daily Mail -- Could a severance tax trust fund build a hefty savings account for West Virginia as it has for Alaska, Wyoming and a handful of other states? Read
Also published in The Dominion Post (6/14/2011)
Study: Training more valuable than tax breaks
June 13, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- Work-force training programs are more effective than tax breaks for the state of West Virginia to recruit and retain businesses, a researcher told the legislative Joint Commission on Economic Development Monday. Read
Editorial: Kentucky's Open Door model for budget transparency
June 6, 2011, The Hearld-Dispatch -- House Republicans already have proposed transparency legislation in recent sessions, and we hope lawmakers can build bipartisan support for a West Virginia Open Door portal. Read
Think tank urges state budget transparency
June 3, 2011, Herald-Dispatch -- Improving online reporting about state budget matters would instill public confidence in elected leaders and help state government operate more efficiently, officials with a nonpartisan research organization say. Read
6 months on Capitol Hill: Manchin makes name as bipartisan in U.S. Senate
May 28, 2011, The Charleston-Gazette -- Six months into his new job on Capitol Hill, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin has busily pursued a brand of consensus-building that helped him twice win the Governor's Mansion and continues to keep him in view of West Virginia voters as the 2012 election nears. Read
W.Va. fiscal documents
May 23, 2011, Charleston Daily Mail Capitol Notebook Blog -- The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy brings together on one page of its website some of the most important budget documents in state government. Read
Center on Budget and Policy launches new website to track expenditures
May 24, 2011, WOWK-TV -- he West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy announced Monday it has launched a new website to track the expenditures of agencies across the state. Read
Manchin supports federal spending cap
May 21, 2011, The Charleston Gazette-Mail -- Sen. Joe Manchin says he supports a bill that would cap federal spending at a certain percentage of the nation's gross domestic product, because the nation's deficit has risen so sharply in recent years. Read
AARP: Older Americans Threatened by Cuts to Medicare, Social Security
May 19, 2011 Public News Service -- "Prevent harmful cuts to Medicare and Social Security." That's the message from AARP, in light of the current budget talks on Capitol Hill. Read
Gubernatorial candidates cast doubt on coal
May 12, 2011, Charleston Daily-Mail -- During the campaign leading to Saturday's special gubernatorial primary, a few Democratic candidates have suggested the once unutterable: coal hasn't been all that great for West Virginia. Read
WV tax credits underutilized, may need more transparency
May 11, 2011, West Virginia Public Broadcasting --Businesses in the state have a number of ways to lessen their tax burdens, but the actual number of companies taking advantage of these credits is small. Read
Conflict: U.S. budget crisis
May 6, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- New 2010 census figures released this week show that the median age of West Virginians has crept upward to 41.3 years -- significantly higher than the 38 average found in the 2000 census. This ranks Mountain State residents among America's oldest. Read
Broadband council chairman steps down
May 5, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- With the West Virginia Broadband Deployment Council expected to distribute more than $4.4 million in grants, state Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette stepped down as the board's chairman Thursday and appointed a replacement. Read
Could slow internet access hobble WV's rural economy?
May 4, 2011, Public News Service -- Without speedy broadband Internet access, small towns will be at a definite economic disadvantage, according to studies of the impact of broadband in rural America. Read
Jobs: State’s economy the critical issue
May 2, 2011, Parkersburg News and Sentinel -- Republican and Democratic candidates for governor who attended debates in Wheeling this past week were asked how they would spur economic development in the state. Read
Also reported in the Martisnburg Journal
State tax system primer now available
April 30, 2011, Parkersburg News and Sentinel -- The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy has released a guide it hopes will explain how West Virginia's tax system works. Read
Broadband Council public member seat goes unfilled
April 28, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- A West Virginia Broadband Deployment Council member who abruptly resigned in February hasn't been replaced, and a group that monitors the council wants to know why not. Read
With age, education as factors, state employees earn less than in private sector
April 28, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- Public workers in West Virginia earn less than their private-sector counterparts when factors such as education and age are considered, a new report says. Read
Critics lash out at Manchin's deficit views
April 28, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- Legislation backed by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will prove disastrous for middle-class Americans and states like West Virginia, critics say. Read
Study shows public workers could earn more in private sector
April 28, 2011, Charleston Daily Mail -- The average state and local government worker in West Virginia makes about $3,000 more a year in salary and benefits than the average private sector worker, a new study has found. Read
W.Va. labor participation rate slumps to 20-year low
April 25, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- More than 30,000 West Virginians have dropped out of the labor force since the start of the recession in December 2007, according to a new report. Read
What do the histories of Social Security and Medicare say about their future?
April 25, 2011, Public News Service -- As Congress considers the future of the Social Security and Medicare systems, it's worth taking a look at what the country was like without them. Read
W. Va. jobs rise, but recovery slow
April 21, 2011, Beckley Register-Herald -- According to a West Virginia nonprofit research organization, the state is gaining jobs but at a rather slow rate. Read
Also published 4/21/2011 in the Charleston Daily Mail
Republican Betty Ireland says she is the complete package in the race for governor of W.Va.
April 20, 2011, Daily Journal -- Betty Ireland says she isn't afraid to make hard decisions for West Virginia's future. Read
W. Va. budget policy group posts current tax data
April 17, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy has compiled 10 charts providing interesting information about the current federal tax system in the United States. Read
Unemployment insurance changes promoted
April 8, 2011, Beckley Register-Herald -- About $22 million in federal incentives to modernize the state’s unemployment insurance system may fall out of the state’s reach if lawmakers do not make changes by August. Read
Surge in state business tax signals economic growth
April 4, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- West Virginia's business tax collections were up 700 percent in March compared to the same month last year, a sign that West Virginia's economy continues to improve significantly. Read
Permanent mineral trust fund could support diversification
March 30, 2011, WOWK-TV -- With economic diversification often cited as a goal but the ways and means to get there always in question, an idea has surfaced that might have some legs. Read
Also reported 3/30/2011 in The State Journal and 4/1/2011 by WBOY-TV
Social Security: Experts say don't believe the hype
March 28, 2011, Public News Service -- In spite of what you might have heard about Social Security, experts say the program is not about to go bankrupt. Read
Study: One year on, over 400,000 In WV see benefits of health reform
March 23, 2011, Public News Service -- This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, and national polls say about one in eight Americans feel reform has already helped them personally. Read
Manchin against raising debt ceiling
March 22, 2011, Charleston Daily Mail -- Sen. Joe Manchin says he would oppose allowing the United States to borrow more money without some sort of plan to pay it back. Read
Dave Cassell: Stand up against gas drilling
March 21, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- Wall Street barons used the same line on past generations: Give us your timber and coal; we will bring untold wealth to West Virginia. The facts speak for themselves. The wealth went to Wall Street and the timber and coal left West Virginia. Read
County to have actuarial study performed
March 13, 2011, Parkersburg News-Sentinel -- Wood County commissioners have retained a South Carolina firm to perform an actuarial study on the county's potential liability as it pertains to future retiree benefits. Read
States following West Virginia's lead to cut business taxes
While President Obama and the governors of 10 states have proposed reducing corporate tax rates in recent months, West Virginia's businesses taxes will drop automatically next year as part of a "phase-down" plan spearheaded by former Gov. Joe Manchin in 2008. Read
Will the Marcellus boom help the economy?
March 4, 2011, Charleston Gazette Blog -- A few weeks ago, a West Virginia University study touted the economic benefits of the Marcellus gas drilling boom to our state. The study got a lot of attention from the West Virginia media. But... Read
Proposed budget cuts "devastating" to WV
March 2, 2011, Public News Service -- Cut the federal budget: stop economic growth. That's the message from several new reports criticizing a U.S. House-approved plan which slashes $61 billion from the months left in the current fiscal year. Read
Boom could mean changes in state’s economy
February 27, 2011, Beckley Register-Herald -- The potential associated with a boom in industry such as the one some are betting will occur with the Marcellus shale could result in some big changes in the state’s economy. Read
Broadband challenge: Report urges state to bolster high-speed Internet efforts
February 26, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- A new report urges state officials to establish a government office that would oversee plans to bring high-speed Internet to more homes and businesses across West Virginia. Read
Report: W.Va. workers in dire straits
February 26, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- West Virginia's recovery from the lingering national recession is far from complete, a new report says. Read
‘Invest The Boom’ proposal for WV gas severance tax trust fund
February 24, 2011, Public News Service -- West Virginia could help ease the effects of its chronic natural-resources boom-and-bust cycles by investing part of the revenue from natural-gas drilling. Read
Broadband council member steps down
February 23, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- A Citynet executive resigned from the West Virginia Broadband Deployment Council Wednesday night, after holding a seat on the board illegally for more than two years. Read
Broadband council member who criticized state is ineligible for seat
February 22, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- A West Virginia Broadband Deployment Council member who recently railed against the state's use of $126.3 million in federal stimulus funds has held a seat on the board illegally since 2008. Read
Deep public concern about Marcellus drilling in W. Va.
February 18, 2011, Public News Service -- egislators got an earful Thursday from people worried about the impact of the fast-growing practics of extracting natural gas from West Virginia's Marcellus shale. Read
Fears voiced at Marcellus Shale hearing
February 17, 2011, The Charleston Gazette -- Joe Miller's family has owned a tree farm in Preston County for 150 years. But he's worried about what might happen to his business if drilling for natural gas in the state's Marcellus Shale formation isn't controlled. Read
W.Va. council says Medicaid rebranding needed
February 16, 2011, The Huntington Herald-Dispatch -- Members of a state health council say West Virginia’s Medicaid program needs to change its image. Read
Health council suggests re-branding Medicaid
February 15, 2010, The Charleston Gazette -- West Virginia must re-brand its Medicaid program from "a welfare-based agency" to a state insurance program to effectively enroll residents under new federal health-care laws, members of a state health council said Tuesday. Read
Federal unemployment aid enough to keep WV fund solvent
February 14, 2011, Public News Service -- New numbers from Workforce West Virginia say the state's unemployment insurance fund is in better shape than previously estimated, which means federal money available for modernizing the system would be enough to keep the fund solvent until the economy improves. Read
Health-care law in W.Va.: 'Years of hard work are paying off'
State among 10 'most ready' for expansion
February 12, 2011, The Charleston Gazette-Mail -- At least 16 million low-income Americans will get new Medicaid cards through federal health-care reform between 2014 and 2019. More than 120,000 will be West Virginians. Read
Tobacco tax increases proposed in W.Va.
February 12, 2011, WSAZ-TV -- West Virginia lawmakers are talking about a plan that would add $1 to the cost of a pack of cigarettes and also raise taxes on other tobacco products. Read
OPEB: Mountain or Molehill?
February 5, 2011, Parkersburg News-Sentinel -- Officials with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy met with Wood County commissioners this week to present a report on the Other Post-Employment Benefits liability issue. Read
Charting fiscal course in W. Va.
January 29, 2011, Wheeling Intelligencer -- It was former Gov. Joe Manchin's policy to be conservative in revenue forecasts and his successor, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, seems to be following suit. When West Virginia's spending does not match its budget, the difference usually is in the form of a surplus, not a deficit. Read
Policy center lays out future of W.Va. broadband
January 27, 2011, The Beckley Register-Herald -- Bridging the gap between the have and have-nots of broadband Internet will require a dual approach that simultaneously attacks supply and demand issues, a West Virginia policy analyst said. Read
Window to quick-fix unemployment insurance closing
January 26, 2011, The Beckley Register-Herald -- West Virginia lawmakers must act quickly if they want to take advantage of an incentive program for unemployment insurance reform that could prevent insolvency in the state unemployment insurance. Read
Lawmakers eye firmer hold of session
January 23, 2011, Associated Press (Huntington Herald-Dispatch) -- West Virginia's Legislature is showing signs that acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's legislative agenda may not sail through this session, and not necessarily because of last week's court ruling. Read
Also reported 1/23/2011 in The Charleston Gazette
WVCBP: Business tax cuts aren’t enough to boost growth
January 18, 2011, Associated Press (Beckley Register-Herald) — A West Virginia nonpartisan budget policy research group reports that cutting business taxes to attract new business to the state isn’t likely to be very effective. Read
Also reported 1/18/2011 in Charleston Daily-Mail, Parkersburg Real Estate, and others.
WVCBP report is dangerous nonsense
January 12, 2011, The InterMountain -- Spend now, worry later. That appears to be the advice for state legislators being offered by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Read
Editorial: Here is the state of the state's economy
January 12, 2011, Charleston Daily Mail -- As West Virginia's 35th governor, Earl Ray Tomblin, prepares to give his first State of the State address tonight, the state faces another year of a tight budget in a poor economy. Read
Editorial: Retiree funding gap merits attention now, not later
January 10, 2011, The Herald-Dispatch -- A call for West Virginia officials not to panic over the nearly $8 billion funding gap for health benefits promised to public employees once they retire seems somewhat overstated. There's not much evidence that the state has taken any panic-stricken steps in the past, or else the gap wouldn't be nearly so big. Read
Report says OPEB fears may be overblown
January 11, 2010, W. Va. Public Broadcasting -- The West Virginia Legislature begins its regular session Wednesday and one of the big issues it’s expected to tackle is the benefits the state expects to owe its retirees. The state estimates it will owe workers about $8 billion, and legislators have been grappling with the issue for more than a year. A new study suggests lawmakers may be overreacting. Read
Study: 'Crisis' over W.Va. retiree costs overblown
January 9, 2011, Associated Press (Huntington Herald-Dispatch) -- West Virginia officials should not panic over the estimated $8 billion funding gap from health benefits promised to public employees once they retire, a report released over the weekend contends. Read
Also reported 1/9/2011 in The Charleston Gazette; 1/10/2011 at Bloomberg.com and others.
Wave of baby boomers won’t overwhelm social security
January 5, 2011, W. Va. Public News Service -- The first wave of the baby boom generation, born in 1946, officially hit retirement age on January 1, and analysts say the system is well-prepared to handle the influx of retirements. According to Ted Boettner. Read