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Comparing tax cut fantasies to reality

Of the tax cut plans on the table, the one proposed by the Senate (SB 424) is by far the most reasonable. As we previously reported, the plan starts with a 15% decrease in personal income tax. In out years, a 105% improvement of sales tax revenue over the previous year would trigger additional income tax cuts. SB 424 also includes eliminating the “marriage penalty” when filing taxes in West Virginia (when filing jointly bumps a couple into a higher tax bracket than if they’d filed separately); a rebate for vehicle property tax; a homestead real property tax rebate for 90% to ...

The Good, the Bad and the Stupid 5

Good: SB 216, requiring all schools to instruct students on Holocaust, other genocides and financial literacy. This bill has passed the Senate and is being reviewed by the House Education Committee. We give two thumbs up for the requirement to teach financial literacy. Not everyone needs to know pre-calculus, but everyone should be able to balance a budget and understand how debt and taxes work. But back to genocide: Unfortunately, Holocaust denial is a real thing. It’s important our young people know what the Holocaust was and understand the myriad factors that led to millions ...

Why doesn’t Sen. Capito support more clean water?

We find it mind-boggling when West Virginia politicians — ones who have grown up here, not just swooped in to fill an elected office — don’t support clean water regulations. At the end of December, the Environmental Protection Agency released a new rule to redefine “waters of the United States” (referred to as WOTUS), which are protected through the Clean Water Act. This definition had been fairly consistent until 2015, but has been in flux ever since, largely due to court challenges and diametrically opposed presidencies. But the EPA finally settled on one that breaks ...

Random acts of kindness

We think everyone can agree that we need something good in our lives. So here’s something good for you: Random Acts of Kindness Day is Friday, Feb. 17. A small history lesson: In 1985, California-based writer Anne Herbert published an essay in the “Whole Earth Review” titled, “Random Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty,” later adapted into a children’s book of the same name.  Then, in 1993, the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation was formed to “make kindness the norm.” It put on the first Random Acts of Kindness Day on Feb. 17, 1995, in Denver, Colo. And ...

The Good, the Bad and the Stupid Pt. 4

Good: SB 489, establishing that “All county boards of education shall make feminine hygiene products, as defined in this section, available to female students, attending public school, in grades 3 through 12. The boards shall make the feminine hygiene products available at no cost and in a discrete manner to students in the identified population when the female students do not otherwise have access to such feminine hygiene products.” It has already passed the Senate and is now being considered in the House of Delegates. We give SB 489 two thumbs up. There are few things in life ...

As politicians obsess over kids’ genitals, useful bills languish

We’ve repeatedly used this space to debunk some of the myths and scare-tactics surrounding transgender individuals. However, the falsehoods persist and they’ve taken root in the Legislature, which has proposed multiple anti-transgender bills. One in particular is steadily advancing: HB 2007, to ban gender-affirming surgeries and gender-altering medications for anyone under 18. We won’t waste our limited space reiterating everything we’ve covered before.  Instead, we’re dedicating today’s space to the legislative malfeasance surrounding HB 2007 — lousy legislative ...