It’s been a decade since the minimum wage in West Virginia has increased. In that same time, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy says the wealthiest households have seen tax cuts totaling more than $2 billion.
The nonprofit policy research group released a blueprint Tuesday with recommendations in three areas it says will lead to statewide growth:
Provide Good Jobs for All
- Increase Worker Wages and Benefits
- Utilize State and Federal Public Infrastructure Dollars to Create Good Jobs
- Invest in Every Community
Prioritize Affordability for Children and Families
- Help Families Afford the Basics for Children
- Enhance Child Care and Child Welfare
- Address Rising Health Care Costs
- Improve Housing Affordability
- Invest in Job Training and Higher Education
Invest in Every Community
- Save Neighborhood Schools
“If we prioritize the families and the small businesses and infrastructure in our communities now, in all 55 counties, we can make our whole state attractive to the families who are already here, to other families that want to come here, to businesses that want to locate here,” Kelly Allen, the center’s executive director, said. “We’ve got a few areas that are doing well and 50 counties or so that aren’t. So this is about making widespread investments for all families to ensure that growth can be seen in all corners of West Virginia.”
The report finds that in some cases these policies will pay for themselves through increased economic activity, better health and jobs outcomes, and less spending on incarceration and the child welfare system.
It also says modernizing the state’s tax system by restoring 2009 corporate net income tax levels, increasing the severance tax on coal and natural gas, and treating passive income the same as earned wages can help meet the costs of other recommended investments.
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