Education Costs & the Hope Scholarship   Amid all the talk about why lawmakers in West Virginia should or shouldn’t pass legislation that introduces Hope Scholarship education savings accounts to students and families across the Mountain State, one major point of contention always comes back to the almighty dollar – the costs of education in […]

Not yet a month out from Joe Biden’s first day in office, the newly inaugurated President has signed 25 executive orders and proposed plans for impactful change across the nation. Lumped into a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, the President has suggested increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.   The Biden administration […]

One of the top concerns for everyone is equity in education. On paper we have done a good job, investing near average for the nation per capita despite having a historically low GDP. But beyond budgetary reports, how equitable is our education system? The Current System West Virginia’s model works well for the rich; they […]

For many, January marks the anxious start to tax season and reminds us how much the government takes from our paychecks every year. But what if there was a way to keep more money in your pocket?   After the November general election, Governor Justice announced that his top priority is to eliminate the state […]

Alex Brill is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies the impact of tax policy on the US economy as well as the fiscal, economic, and political consequences of tax, budget, health care, retirement security, and trade policies. He also works on health care reform, pharmaceutical spending and drug innovation, […]

State legislators are considering the elimination of the personal income tax in the upcoming Spring session. These discussions have sparked a conversation about taxation and why it is essential to a government’s functioning.   Opponents to abolishing the income tax claim that West Virginia would lose 43% of the state budget after the bill’s passage; […]

Some things in life simply require a second serving. Ice cream, Netflix episodes, and French fries all aren’t the same without just a little bit more. Unfortunately, our gluttonous state government has gone in for seconds- on an expensive and complex technology contract. As reported by Metro News, Governor Justice signed a contract that will […]

Teachers, parents, students, and everyone in between are gearing up for some kind of start to the 2020-21 school year. There’s no denying that uncertainty is the prevailing theme this school year.   Will the year start in person or virtually? Can the spread of the coronavirus be contained? What will enrollments look like? Is […]

Many of our individual lives have changed in some way or another due to the coronavirus. Similarly, lawmakers have a wide range of public policy options worthy of consideration as they are tasked with facilitating smooth transitions into post-coronavirus life and recovery of the localities and economies they, and the constituents they represent, are a […]

Is it time to relocate Washington, D.C.? Well, not in a literal geographical sense – that would be a feat that would make even Marvel supervillain, Ultron, blush. (Look up the plot for Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.) More realistically, what about relocating the litany of federal agencies that currently sit in our nation’s capital? […]