Good Governance & Finance Audits are not sexy. They are not even exciting, enticing, or exhilarating, however, what they are is . . . revealing. A common talking point amongst fiscal conservatives and general free-market types is the need to cut spending and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the budget. The Cardinal Institute even […]

The Challenges Of The Public Education System  It’s difficult to overstate the challenge of thinking critically about the public education system — mainly because we love teachers. And let’s be honest, cognitive dissonance plays a role too. After all, most of us went to and sent our children to public schools. Thinking critically would put most […]

Spooky Policies to Beware of As Halloween creeps around the corner, let’s expose the ghosts of bad decisions past and unearth insidious policies lurking in the shadows of bloated bureaucracy. A few of these policies may appear innocuous on the surface. However, as many horror films demonstrate, sometimes the seemingly innocent ideas can harbor bone-chilling […]

Governor Justice Calls a Special Session On September 30, Governor Jim Justice called the legislature to convene for a special session. The initial call had 27 items for lawmakers to address. The call was then amended twice, bringing items of business up to 40. Supplemental appropriations to a wide variety of agencies and associated services […]

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: October 15, 2024    FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Amanda Kieffer, VP of Communications & Strategy, Cardinal Institute for WV Policy PHONE: (304)-541-9551| EMAIL: [email protected]     New Survey Reveals West Virginia Families’ Dissatisfaction with Lack of School Choices   Charleston, W.Va. – The Cardinal Institute in partnership with 50CAN and Edge […]

Responding to The WV Watch In a recent commentary piece, the WV Watch puts West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship squarely in its sights and holds no punches.  Here’s where they got it wrong.     Do the Math  The WV Watch claims that West Virginia’s schools need more money.   Like most states, West Virginia spends roughly […]

Since the beginning of the legislative session on January 11, 2017, West Virginia has been consumed with discussion over the budget crisis. While the discussion can be exhausting and repetitive, it has provided a forum for two competing visions for West Virginia. The first vision essentially doubles down on the idea that more government involvement […]

The 2024 West Virginia Legislative Session in Numbers It is the end of the 2024 West Virginia Legislative Session. As the action in Charleston has wrapped up, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what has transpired. Certainly, there were fireworks and heated debates along the way. Interestingly enough, many of the bills […]

Grocery Stores in Bureautopia There was once a country called Bureautopia. Bureautopia, in its time, looked surprisingly similar to the United States. It had vast natural beauty and resources. It had varied regional cultures across its land. And it had a government that, for better or worse, tried to provision important resources like food to […]

Benefit Cliffs Prevent Work We have all heard, at one time or another, terms that look to describe or deride people who take advantage of public benefits programs. I won’t list them here, but we’ve all heard them. These terms are the result of sometimes righteous frustration with individuals or families that live on the […]