What government decisions mean for your wallet, privacy, and freedom
What government decisions mean for your wallet, privacy, and freedom
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A living wage means just that.
A living wage means just that.
Affordability is about what people earn. A living wage means take-home pay is enough to cover bills – food, housing, transportation, child care - save , save a little, and can handle emergencies without requiring multiple jobs or forcing families to make impossible tradeoffs.
When working people do better, everybody does better.
Solutions include giving people a voice in the workplace through
unions and collective bargaining.
Public sentiment toward labor unions has been on the rise, according to a Gallup poll released this week, and for five years running, 7 in 10 Americans say they support unions, the highest level of support in a generation. By a 2-to-1 margin, people say unions are more needed today than in the past, and say increasing union membership is the single best way Americans can get a raise.1
WV’s elected representatives in Washington
Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice and Rep. Riley Moore and Carol Miller - could have extended tax provisions, expanded health insurance premium tax credits. and reinstated the Child Tax Credit (CTC) – all for less than half the cost of the OBBB.2
2.3 million beneficiaries are expected to lose Medicaid coverage under the OBBBA.3
Up to 1.3 million low-income Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for Medicaid help will not get it.3
2.3 million beneficiaries are expected to lose Medicaid coverage under the OBBBA.3
A couple with annual income of around $21,000 could incur up to around $8,000 in additional healthcare costs per year.3
For some West Virginians, the cuts are very painful.
For some West Virginians, the cuts are very painful.
The SNAP program, for example, formerly known as Food Stamps, will be cut by an additional $187 billion over the next decade.4
67,000 West Virginians will pay much higher insurance premiums through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, an increase of 133%. An estimated 15,000 of them will drop ACA coverage because they can no longer afford it.2
16% of WV citizens lost SNAP benefits (277,000 people and 100,000 children)> Our representatives in Wasington – Sens. Moore Capito and Justice and Representatives Moore and Miller – helped make that happen by not voting to extend benefits or use contingency funds to keep food on their constituents’ tables.2
The WV congressional delegation voted to take money away from Medicaid recipients in WV to fund ICE even though undocumented immigrants are NOT eligible for Medicaid and legal immigrants to WV comprise less than 2% of the state population.2
There are 12,800 WV veterans on Medicaid. 35.2% of them have a disability. The OBBB, which all 4 members of the WV Congressional delegation voted for, cut benefits for 1.2 million veterans nationwide.5
“They’re out of touch with people like us
and think we’re too stupid to notice.”10
Childcare is a Necessity for Working Parents
How can West Virginia families particiipate fully in the workforce when child care is unaffordable? How can employers fill jobs when workers cannot find care?
WV daycare centers are closing due to rising costs and funding shortages.6
More than 28,000 children in West Virginia do not have access to childcare.6
Childcare access varies widely across West Virginia. In some counties, the demand for childcare outpaces the supply of licensed providers, leaving children without care and parents stuck on months-long waiting lists.
In rural central West Virginia, multiple counties only have one or two providers to serve hundreds of children. For example, in Clay County, parents only have one provider. That means, if the center is full, parents have to drive out of the county for care. More than 200 childcare centers in the state have closed since 2024.
“They’re not holding up their end of the bargain.”10
The average cost of childcare in West Virginia can set families back over $10,000 a year, almost a fifth of the state’s median household income.6
Under U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines, childcare is deemed unaffordable if costs exceed 7% of a household's annual income.7
The only day care center in the Snowshoe Resort area closed recently due to increased costs. Families were given two days’ notice to find appropriate child care for their children.8
Medicare AND Medicaid
1 in 5 West Virginians rely on both Medicare AND Medicaid to cover medical expenses. Because Medicare is their primary insurance, many are not yet aware they will be impacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB)9
The OBBB will raise taxes for the poorest 40 percent of West Virginia households, primarily because enhanced health-care tax credits were not extended.2
Any middle class tax cut will be quite small and, in most cases, will be completely outweighed by higher tariffs ($2100 per year/per WV household) or the rising costs of food, gas, utilities etc.2
The richest 1 percent in West Virginia get a tax cut 55 times larger than the average WV household. The richest 5 percent of West Virginians alone will benefit more than the entire bottom 80 percent of households combined.2
Sources1. The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register, Josh Sword, September 5, 20262. West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, https://wvpolicy.org3. Center for Medicare Advocacy; KFF; AMA; USAFacts; analyses accessed August 20264. PBS, June 2, 20265. Kaiser Family Foundation, June 30, 20256. Mountain State Spotlight, May 22, 2026; https://mountainstatespotlight.org7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services childcare affordability guideline8. Local resident who asked not to be identified for fear of losing her job9. West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy and the Kaiser Family Foundation10. https://kitchentablepopulism.com/
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