The Cardinal's Nest

“People need to be a valued member of something larger than themselves.” Chris Arnade, author, Dignity.   When I heard Mr. Arnade say this, I immediately though, “How many West Virginians feel as though they are a valued member of something larger?” I have no hard evidence, but I wager… Read More

We are so excited to announce that we are partnering with West Virginia Voices for Education Choices to host a screening of Miss Virginia! We will also be hosting Virginia Walden Ford herself for a Q&A session after the movie! Come prepared with your burning education choice questions. This will… Read More

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

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

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

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 cu… Read More

Government regulation of most industries is taken for granted. However, there are many fields where the free market could do a better job regulating quality and protecting consumers than the existing government apparatus. Government-imposed occupational licensing is often a burdensome requirement on… Read More

We interact with prices every day.   But, what is a price? What do these prices mean? What information do prices convey?   Take a moment to think about it.   If you’re like me – most of the time, those interactions take the form of their sum ballooning… Read More

Along with its partner, the Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation at Saint Francis University, the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy released the final results from its study on the occupational licensing regime in West Virginia this week. In the study, we looked at West Vir… Read More

More money, subsidies, and government – oh my! Earlier this month, Democratic Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg released his plan for rural economic development. And, as readers of this blog might expect, his plan is nothing new under the sun. Buttigieg calls for paid family leave, additional farm… Read More