The Cardinal's Nest

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

In debates about how to entice people to move to West Virginia’s respective cities, the claim is often made that we need to invest in more green spaces, more parks, more arts, and the like. It’s true, people enjoy these amenities. But these alone are not what draw people… Read More

On a daily basis (seriously, it’s seven days a week), I have an inner discourse that orbits around some versions of the following questions: What should Cardinal be doing? What are we doing well? What can we do better? How can Cardinal become more effective by reaching more people? What… Read More

The mythical gender pay gap has again appeared out of the mists of fairytale land to grace the news cycle. This time in reference to the US Women’s Soccer team. The US Women’s Soccer team won its fourth Women’s World Cup championship this year, and now people are calling… Read More

“Remember in November”   We’ve been hearing that line for a while, and no doubt, we’ll continue to – especially now that the special session on “education betterment” is complete, and that resolution included the West Virginia Legislature allowing for the creation of the state’s first (three)… Read More

By the time you read this, it is possible that the outcome of West Virginia’s special legislative session dedicated to education reform has been determined. As you are likely aware, on Monday, June 17, the House of Delegates has begun its portion of the special session — the Senate has… Read More

At the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy, people often ask us why we care about the education system and what we stand to gain from making changes to it.   Obviously, some people ask questions like this simply because they disagree with our values as an organization and feel… Read More