As the nation's largest corporations see their profits surge, more West Virginians are relying on assistance to meet basic needs as their spending power shrinks.

A new report finds corporate profits drove more than half of inflation during the second and third quarters of 2023.

Gary Zuckett, West Virginia Citizen Action Group member, said inflation has taken its toll on already struggling communities, adding that household financial stress is linked to increased drug use, domestic violence and worsened health outcomes.

"I do think this is very relevant to our state, which has some of the lowest per-capita incomes in the country. In a state like West Virginia, where especially our rural counties have such a challenge, just with basic services," Zuckett said.

The report shows, for example, that diaper prices have jumped by more than 30% since 2019 -- from, on average, $16.50 to nearly $22 -- despite the fact that source material for wood pulp, used to make diapers and other paper products, declined by 25% last year.

Liz Pancotti, report co-author and Groundwork Collaborative strategic advisor, explained that global supply chain snarls have smoothed over, and the economy has mostly stabilized, meaning the input costs for companies that make goods have dropped significantly.

"Now their costs are back down to zero, $1, compared to pre-pandemic, and they're still passing on those $2 or $3 increases," she explained.

At the same time, Zuckett noted, many of the nation's most profitable companies have paid no income taxes. A report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found at least 55 of the largest corporations in America paid no federal corporate income taxes in 2020 -- a collective total of around $8.5 billion.

"Corporations used to carry about two-thirds of the tax burden to fund the government," Zuckett said. "And workers paid about a third. Now that's flipped, and now the workers are paying two-thirds to keep the government running and corporations only being a third, and that's not fair."

Without congressional action, 2017 Trump-era tax cuts on American households earning less than $400,000 a year are set to expire in 2025.


get more stories like this via email

Low-wage workers in Pennsylvania haven't seen a minimum-wage increase in more than a decade, but a new bill with bipartisan support would change that.

The Raise the Wage Act of 2025, introduced in both chambers of Congress on April 8, aims to gradually raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $17 per hour by 2030.

Andrea Grove, owner of Elementary Coffee Co. in Harrisburg, said the change would lead to bigger paychecks and boost the economy.

"There has been a lot of movement, a lot of momentum, a lot of bills presented to hopefully get the minimum wage increased, even just incrementally," she said, "and I would really love to see this actually go through this time."

An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute finds that increasing the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour by 2030 would affect one million workers in Pennsylvania and more than 22 million workers nationwide.

Grove said she works with a lot of small and micro-businesses, with most already paying more than the federal minimum wage. She said the minimum wage remaining low results in employers paying less.

"Nine dollars an hour isn't even very good for minimum wage at this point in time," she said, "and if you look at the increase in rising costs and just what it takes for just to live, that's not keeping up, and that's not keeping pace with what just the average person needs to work a 40 hour work week and be able to provide for themselves."

The Pennsylvania House already passed House Bill 1500, which would raise the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026. The idea has bipartisan support but the Senate has not yet acted on a similar bill.

Nebraska lawmakers have reached a compromise on a measure to roll back a minimum wage increase but labor group advocates said the deal goes against the will of voters.

Nebraskans approved a measure in 2022 to incrementally raise the minimum wage from $9 an hour to $15 by the beginning of 2026. But Legislative Bill 258, sponsored by longtime grocery store chain owner, Sen. Jane Raybould, D-Lincoln, would reduce the increases to fall below the cost of living.

Now, lawmakers have reached a percentage-based compromise, which still limits wage increases.

Jodi Lepaopao, field director for the advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed, said the deal falls short of what Nebraskans voted for three years ago.

"We are a thumbs down on the compromise," Lepaopao stressed. "We want to be sure that we are upholding the will of the voters and the legislature does that."

Supporters of the compromise said it minimizes financial risk over time and offer as evidence data from the Midwest Bureau of Labor Statistics showing a fixed annual increase would be superior to tying increases to annual cost of living adjustments, which is the approach the current takes.

Lepaopao added the 2022 voter-approved measure was designed to help Nebraskans who most need the wage increase.

"This was to ensure that they were able to continue to meet their needs as costs continue to rise," Lepaopao explained. "This was for the rural workers in smaller communities so they don't lose their purchasing power."

The bill would also create a minimum a $13.50 hourly wage for 14- and 15-year-olds.


get more stories like this via email

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to cut a cut a majority of jobs at the federal agency responsible for worker health and safety is seen as a direct attack on Kentucky workers by labor unions in the state.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health could be trimmed from around 1,400 employees to fewer than 150. At the state level, House Bill 398 would also have dismantled Kentucky's worker protection standards and requirements.

Dustin Reinstedler, president of the Kentucky AFL-CIO, said similar proposals down the road are now more concerning.

"To think that Kentucky was supposed to fall back on the federal OSHA guidelines, and to think that it's under attack now, it's pretty alarming," Reinstedler stressed.

The federal cuts are expected to include the agency's 9/11 firefighter program, also known as the World Trade Center Health Program. The American Industrial Hygiene Association, the AFL-CIO and Laborers' International Union of North America have all launched campaigns to urge the feds to restore the agency's staff and funding.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reinstedler explained Kentucky relies on its data, research and recommendations to protect workers. He cited personal protective equipment, respirators, and HEPA vacuum systems as standards the agency set to protect workers from silica exposure.

"Myself, as a bricklayer, any time that you're cutting masonry or anything, or cutting concrete, you're throwing up silica into the air," Reinstedler pointed out. "There are guidelines against that."

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health scientists also study Black Lung disease, which affects an estimated 20% of coal miners in Central Appalachia. The agency's mine safety research is regularly used by coal country's key regulatory agency, the Mine Safety and Health Administration.


get more stories like this via email