Virginia hits highest labor force participation rate in a decade; Unemployment Decreases
Work isn’t just about a paycheck. At its core, work is about freedom, accomplishment, respect, human dignity, and even companionship. Work gives purpose and is essential to a thriving community, and thriving communities are essential to a thriving state. That is why it is not surprising to see Gov. Youngkin focus so intently on creating a job-friendly […]
Clean Virginia’s Victory Bad News for Energy Consumers
Renewable energy donor Clean Virginia Fund was the biggest winner in Tuesday’s primaries, going head to head against Dominion Energy Virginia in several nomination contests and often winning. Senior incumbent Democrats with strong Green New Deal voting records went down to defeat, because good wasn’t good enough. Come Election Day in November, the contrast between Democrats and Republicans on […]
Virginia Ends the Subminimum Wage; Jeopardizes Disabled Workers
There are few issues with more economic consensus than the negative impacts of the minimum wage. Originally designed to mimic racially discriminatory laws in other countries, the minimum wage continues to be a means of picking certain classes and geographic locations over others. For example, the minimum wage benefits the high-cost-of-living areas in the Northeast over the lower-cost-of-living […]
The Washington Post Attacks the Most Successful Education Reform in History
Over the last few years, homeschooling has grown in Virginia by almost 40 percent. In fact, homeschoolers in Virginia now account for almost 60,000 students — making homeschooling the fifth largest school district in the Commonwealth. Because homeschoolers are self-funded, this saves Virginia’s state and local governments almost $800 million per year. More importantly, homeschoolers outperform public school students […]
Jefferson Institute Efforts Helped Youngkin Repeal RGGI
Virginia’s Air Pollution Control Board voted Wednesday to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, keeping Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s promise to eliminate the related carbon tax that has been imposed on electricity ratepayers under RGGI since January 2021. It was a step long advocated by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, which opposed the push by […]
The Board of the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy Appoints Derrick Max As New President and CEO
As the Virginians debate over the direction of education, public employee unionization, taxes and energy policy, it is essential to have a strong, independent voice standing for freedom and flourishing for our great Commonwealth. Round Hill, VA, June 5, 2023. The Thomas Jefferson Institute announced today that Derrick Max has been appointed the new CEO and […]
Renewables or Fossil Fuels? Voters Want Both
Given a choice between an energy future that is a) dependent on generation using sun, wind or falling water, or b) dependent on thermal sources using fossil fuels or uranium, or c) a combination of both, which do Americans prefer? Should it surprise anybody that the answer is both? Reliance on both, the need for […]
FERC’s Mark Christie Warns Electricity Growing Unreliable
Virginian Mark Christie is using his position on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as a national pulpit to preach a message of energy reliability doom, and he is being heard. It helps that he is not alone in spreading the alarm. It also helps that he is basing his warning on actual instances of energy […]
Power Lines Divide the Beach
One four-hour public hearing was not enough. Virginia Beach City Council wants another such debate before it votes on a wind company’s request to bring power cables ashore at Sandbridge Beach. Last week’s hearing on Kitty Hawk North’s application for an easement to bury cables apparently was not covered by any Hampton Roads news media. Almost half […]
Dominion Changes Course on Natural Gas, SMR Nukes
Dominion Energy Virginia has long been warning, albeit somewhat quietly, that the dream of running Virginia’s economy on nothing but solar, wind and battery power was not based on reality. With the filing of its most recent integrated resource plan (IRP) on May 1, proposing how to meet customer needs out 25 years, it has made those […]