The Half Sheet

Virginia’s uninsured rate held basically steady in 2017 at 8.8 percent, according to new data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau, maintaining the substantial 3.5 percent reduction in the uninsured rate since 2013. This new data highlights the continued success of the major reforms of the Affordable Care Act, which went into effect in 2014. 

Over 100,000 families in rural and small town Virginia currently receive the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). That’s about one in six taxpayers who claim the EITC in Virginia.

Some cities and states are seeking to make the expected impact of proposed public policies on different communities more transparent through preparing racial equity impact analyses

Virginia is one of just six states in the nation where the wealthiest school districts receive more funding per student than the poorest districts, according to a new report from the National Center for Education Statistics. 

Across the country states are turning to reinsurance pools as a way to decrease health insurance costs and stabilize the individual market.

Virginia’s tax system is upside down. People earning low or moderate wages pay a higher share of their income in state and local taxes than the very wealthiest individuals, and most corporations pay no state corporate income taxes at all.

Virginia’s school buildings seem worse for wear with examples mounting across the state from Southwest Virginia to Richmond to Norfolk of leaking roofs, broken faucets, mold, infestation, insufficient space, and faltering heating and cooling systems.

Working people in every part of Virginia took a hit during the Great Recession. While the economy is improving overall since then, the benefits of recovery have not been evenly distributed.

Virginia should be a place where every family can benefit from the economy, find adequate housing, and get a good education. Many Virginians can; however, over 920,000 hardworking Virginians live in poverty, which limits opportunities for themselves, their families, and their communities.

This coming weekend is Virginia’s annual “sales tax holiday.” Although sales tax holidays are pitched as a way to help families on back-to-school shopping, this policy provides little help to families who are most struggling to afford school supplies. Like other tax breaks, the cost of the sales tax holiday has to be made up somewhere in the state budget – either in the form of lower spending or higher taxes. And this one comes with a serious price tag of about $4.6 million per year in forgone state revenue – revenue that could be used to invest in schools. 

Virginia’s tax system plays a key role in shaping economic opportunity by paying for the building blocks of thriving communities like schools, roads, and libraries. Sales taxes on consumer goods and excise taxes on specific items like gasoline or tobacco products are a significant component of our state

Every 10 years, the Census Bureau conducts the Decennial Census to obtain a headcount of every individual living in the United States. This provides highly valuable information that is critical to keeping our governments and local communities functioning.