Sean O’Leary
@OLearySW
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Policy analyst @WVCBP | anywhere but in between |
Charleston, WV
Joined October 2012
Poverty's causes are not primarily vice and stupidity. But stupidity does lead us to ignore the fact that we once dramatically cut child poverty here in America - by perhaps 50 percent - just a few years ago. Until we stopped. It's call expanding the Child Tax Credit. We
Banning high interest rates is just saying we shouldn't allow people to make irresponsible decisions. If we go all the way with this, then we end up just saying we should ban poverty and its causes, like vice and stupidity.
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Instead of asking Pat and Larry for a tax cut that will defund your public schools, ask your boss for a raise. You deserve to earn more.
It’s no longer about if or when we will cut taxes. It’s about by how much we will cut those taxes. Great news. We look forward to seeing the Governor’s plan.
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This is probably not a good time to be cutting programs like SNAP and Medicaid (or let ACA subsidies expire).
Of the 50K new jobs, 38K were in healthcare and social assistance.
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This week's Budget Beat highlights: - Investing in Public Services Better Serves WV than Continuing Failed Trick-down Experiment - WV Criminal Law Reform Coalition Calls for Compassion and Common Sense on Jails and Prisons Read the full newsletter:
wvpolicy.org
In West Virginia and across the country, families are facing an affordability crisis, one where the costs of life’s necessities are rising faster than wages. This is impacting many households’...
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Wow. 2025 would have been a year of job LOSS without healthcare and social assistance. Total jobs added in 2025 = 584,000 Healthcare jobs added in 2025 = 405,000 Social Assistance jobs added in 2205 = 308,000 Look how many industries had LAYOFFS in the past 12 months: Mining
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This is pretty wild: Health care & social assistance accounted for essentially ALL of private-sector job growth in 2025 (713k out of the 733k private-sector job gains).
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Charts! Starting with our first look at the full-year 2025. We added 584,000 jobs last year, the slowest pace of growth since 2020. (Note that both the 2024 and 2025 figures will likely be revised down when we get the benchmark revisions next month.) #jobsday
JOBS REPORT: U.S. employers added 50,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent.
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You can be white, a mother, and an American citizen and be killed by ICE, and the Vice President will still rush to call you a deranged leftist on Twitter
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With the latest jobs numbers revealing a huge spike in lost federal jobs, our analysis finds that federal funding cuts since Jan. 2025 have now cost WVians at least $800 million and 2,200 jobs. See our regularly updated tracker page for all the details: https://t.co/mIurYEsgoV
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“The head of Minnesota’s state investigations agency said Thursday that the U.S. attorney’s office has barred it from taking part in the investigation into an ICE officer’s fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman”
apnews.com
Today’s live updates have ended. Read what you missed below and find more coverage at apnews.com. A day after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old mother of...
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This is exactly what happened to George Retes in Camarillo - some ICE officers told him to drive away, others told him to get out of the car, and when he didn’t know what to do they tear gassed him and dragged him out of the car.
According to another eyewitness, ICE gave the woman they killed contradictory instructions, then aggressively surrounded her vehicle. One told her to leave, then as she complied, another tried to open her car door & told her to get out of it, while the killer got in front of her.
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DOGE has now cost West Virginia more than 2,000 jobs @SenCapito @JimJustice_WV
Total nonfarm employment is down 1,400 jobs in West Virginia over the past 12 months. Health care and construction are propping up the economy, while federal cuts are hurting. Federal government employment is down 2,200 jobs, a decline of 8.2%
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Total nonfarm employment is down 1,400 jobs in West Virginia over the past 12 months. Health care and construction are propping up the economy, while federal cuts are hurting. Federal government employment is down 2,200 jobs, a decline of 8.2%
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The resumed jobs report also shows West Virginia's unemployment rate is climbing, jumping from 4.0% in September to 4.4% in November. There were 2,100 fewer West Virginians working in November of 2025 than in November of 2024.
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The monthly jobs report is back after pausing during the government shutdown. Total nonfarm employment fell by 700 jobs in November. West Virginia has lost jobs for 5 straight months.
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So far, West Virginia's income tax cuts have delivered revenue declines, underfunded public services, future budget uncertainty, and little to no economic growth. https://t.co/GLNf5s3xsm
wvpolicy.org
In early January, state lawmakers will return to Charleston with one task they are required to complete each legislative session: passing a balanced state budget. This process will be particularly...
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I estimate that WV will be about $480 million short of hitting the trigger in FY 2026
Morrisey’s proposed tax cut: 🔹he’s proposing 5-10%, @WVCBP estimates $1 more a week 🔹Morrisey has asked agencies to cut their budgets by 2%, says he thinks tax cut is possible without sacrificing services 🔹we didn’t hit the tax trigger based on revenue numbers last year
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December's general revenue collections fall short of the estimate by $3.2 million, and are $63.9 million below December 2024
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The state's next 1/2-point income tax cut has gone into effect, & the cost now totals a stunning $2.1B a year. But in a new poll, only 9% of Kentucky voters say these cuts are helping them, 8% say they actually hurt, 40% say the cuts haven't affected them and 43% are "not sure."
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My parents digitized their home VHS tapes, so here’s 1 year old Sean at their wedding
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