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Economy
An Email from a Stranger
One never knows when poignant, humbling moments will hit you, or even why when they hit, they hit you square in the gut. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, the Cardinal Institute has been doing its best to cut through the information thicket and curate three good… Read More
What the Future May Hold
Now that we find ourselves somewhere around March 83rd, after having spent the last several weeks in quarantine, I’ve started to ponder what the world is going to be like once we’re “released back into the wild” — as I’ve come to call it. I think it’s safe to… Read More
Suspend Certificate of Need Laws Now
Yesterday our Executive Director sent a letter to Governor Justice pleading with him to immediately and indefinitely suspend Certificate of Need laws in response to the COVID-19 crisis facing West Virginia. Maybe you’ve never heard of Certificate of Need (CON) laws, but, in a nutshell, these laws re… Read More
Hand Sanitizer, Price Gouging, and the Coronavirus:
Lately, it seems like everyone has a story, or a picture posted on their social media account of the cobwebs and a “LIMIT: 2” sign inhabiting the store shelves where hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray or wipes, or toilet paper used to live. After leaving the store empty-handed, maybe you thought… Read More
“Well, It’s an Election Year…”
Does West Virginia have time to wait? No, it does not. Will it wait? Yes, I’m afraid it must. As most West Virginians know, the state’s economy, education system, and demographics are not healthy. Are they better than a few years ago? Certainly. However, West Virginia is not in a… Read More
New Year, New West Virginia!
If you’re like most people, you make resolutions at the beginning of every year – lose weight, read more books, travel someplace new, finish a degree, etc. A new year is a chance at a fresh start – it’s an easy marker on the calendar that allows you to push… Read More
An Economist Ruins Christmas Gift Giving. . . Maybe
Friends, Christmas is less than a week away! Hopefully, you’ve finished all your shopping. If not… I wish you luck this weekend out with fellow procrastinators. With the spirit of gift-giving in the air, there are two key ways to think about the gifts you pick out for friends… Read More
Halloween Haunts: Rest in Peace
In these Halloween Haunts, we share some frightening government waste of taxpayer money that is truly scarier than any horror film! The Untrackable $200 million Asset State lawmakers finally created a centralized state vehicle inventory system in 2018 to help track as many as 12,000 gover… Read More
Halloween Haunts: Trick or Treat!
In these Halloween Haunts, we share some frightening government waste of taxpayer money that is truly scarier than any horror film! Superintendent’s Five-Finger Discount Yields Felony Charges A former superintendent and curriculum director for Logan County Public Schools, was charged with t… Read More
Halloween Haunts: Phantom Leases
In these Halloween Haunts, we share some frightening government waste of taxpayer money that is truly scarier than any horror film! Health and Human Resources Wastes $1 Million on Phantom Leases The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) wasted nearly $1 million… Read More