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IT'S A WAL-MART WORLD - Leadership In Troubled Times |
| (01/14/2003) |
| OPINION AND COMMENT By Bob Weaver West Virginia, my beloved, it is time to declare yourself an economic disaster area. We hope the leadership will rise to help you through some troubled times. All the government maneuvering, policies, economic development commissions, party politics, tax changes, tax breaks and "belt-tightening" in the past 70 years, has not helped you to be a prosperous place. Even slick-printed booklets outlining the economic accomplishments of former administrations, won't help a bad situation. West Virginia is likely broke because there are fewer and fewer viable jobs in the private sector. It will take extraordinary courage to better the state. Naturally, we'll need another study. State government is the largest employer in West Virginia, and in at least 30 counties the largest employer is the Board of Education. There are few manufacturing and service industry jobs left in the state, and more leaving, mostly victims to "world trade." Five years ago, Weirton Steel Corp. was the second largest employer. Today it's a WalMart world with 10,600 employees. Wal-Mart is followed by West Virginia University Hospital Systems/United Health Systems, the Charleston Area Medical Center, Weirton Steel, Kroger, CSX, DuPont, Verizon, American Electric Power and Allegheny Energy. West Virginia will never prosper on government, gambling, Wal-Mart, and hospital jobs. Other wealth must support those sectors of the economy. Gambling interests are reportedly collecting up to $7 billion a year in a state whose budget is $3 billion. It's the 21st century equivalent of the 20th century give-away of our natural resources. The state seems hell-bent on giving economic development money and breaks to retailers and gambling interests that don't need incentives, although they like them very much. Just scan the list of the more recent $200 million state"development" projects. The Wheeling outlet mall, according to national retailers, is doomed for failure and Charleston is getting a new ball park. Give me a break. Some of the projects have nothing to do with economic development, except in the eyes of politicians who lobbied for them. The Charleston Gazette says politicians must "drive a stake through the heart of the Workers' Compensation problem, which rises from its legislative grave with greater predictability than Dracula," a debt currently at $2.4 billion (declared bankrupt by 2004). The deficit in the state retirement program is over $4 billion, and there is much more. Were are the leaders who will make the necessary changes to help us? They haven't been hanging out in Charleston. |
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