Free-market

Occupational Licensure Stands in the Way of the Path to Prosperity The path to prosperity, for most people, starts with income. Income, collected and saved over time, is what lines the coffers of most financially secure people, regardless of what they may have converted it to over the… Read More

Occupational Licensing Reduces Mobility For those considering a move to West Virginia, there is little mobility between states when it comes to licensing requirements. Across the nation, nearly one in four workers require a professional license to perform their job. Occupational… Read More

Hello West Virginia,    It’s hard to believe that 2022 is coming to an end. As the Cardinal Institute team looks back on this year, we can confidently say that it was a very good year for our beautiful state!  We kicked off the… Read More

The Future of Health Care is Digital A new report from KPMG found health leaders are beginning to spend more on digital health solutions — marking a major shift in health care investments. Given how flawed present models of healthcare record keeping are,… Read More

It’s Groundhog Day in West Virginia In the 1993 hit movie starring Bill Murray, Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s sarcastic, cynical character, tv weatherman Phil Connors, wakes up experiencing the same day over and over again, which, as the title suggests, is Groundhog Day. Once Phil realizes… Read More

Thoughts from the Day After the Election Republicans Now Have a Super Supermajority in West Virginia You have likely heard the news that West Virginia has increased its existing Republican supermajority in the House and Senate. On Tuesday, the majority increased from 78 to 88 delegates in the House… Read More

American Life Spans Are Shorter Than They Should Be Of the 37 richest countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S ranks 28th in life expectancy. This is far behind the top three nations: Japan (84.4 years), Spain (84.0),… Read More

Competition is in our DNA In the United States, competition is a fundamental value, if not always in practice, then certainly rhetorically. From the number of Olympic medals and business start-ups to IPOs and World Wars, America’s “We’re number one!” chants ring out far and wide. It is simply in… Read More

President Biden Announces National Recovery Month Recently, President Biden announced that September is National Recovery Month. “In celebration of Americans on the road to recovery, this National Recovery Month we recommit to helping prevent substance use disorder, supporting those who are still st… Read More

A Conservative Mountaineer Budget for West Virginia:   While conservatively aligned politicians have more recently taken power in West Virginia, the state has a strong history of practicing responsible, conservative budgeting. Through these practices, the growth of state government has stayed w… Read More