EDITORIAL: West Virginia's Economic Woes Need Raese's Big Solution
Let's pass on the ideological arguments for a minute that have been part of our national economic debate since FDR and the Great Depression. People during the Depression were desperate for answers and jobs. If government leaders then had any ideas as to how to help the people survive or even how to reorder the nation's economy, well, they were all ears.
Fast forward seventy-five years later. Two generations since the Depression, our economy has been seriously gutted for a myriad of reasons, all of which have led to a lack of competitiveness, especially in West Virginia. Foreign competition with its cheap labor has certainly contributed to our collective mess. But our government has taxed and regulated many of our industries out of existence and seems to be trying to eliminate the rest as soon as possible.
The picture above is taken from the ironically named Mount Hope, WV, in Fayette County. Just recently, one of the town's chief employers, Georgia-Pacific, announced the closure of their factory starting on October 1. The 100 employees there were told in the notice that this shutdown will last at least six months. There is no way to know whether this will be a permanent closure or not.
Now, where will those families find work like that in Southern West Virginia anytime soon?
This is a story that has been repeated in so many West Virginia communities over the past several years that we begin to lose count--until it comes to our community. Then we rise from our economic slumber and...act helpless. What can we do except to offer condolences to our family members and friends. Oftentimes we watch them make the same sad trek so many West Virginians have made to Charlotte, Cincinnati, Richmond, or D.C.
But actually, there is something we can do as West Virginians, rather than just take this bad news year after year. For starters, we can look at our businesses, small and large, as our friends, not our foes. That doesn't mean that we surrender our right to a safe work environment or better wages when possible.
Rather, it means understanding the great common ground business owners and their employees share: both need each other to survive in this rocky economy. Both want to see the factory or business thrive. Each, in their own way, usually cares about the fate of their community.
U.S. Senate candidate John Raese says that the core economic truth of our age is that our job needs are much larger than anything our government can provide, even temporarily. This is a challenge that requires new thinking about how to grow both our core industries and new innovations in order to develop the sheer number of jobs needed for the next decade.
Can our federal and state government help create this business climate? Yes, but mostly by simply getting out of the way of the natural drive and creativity that entrepreneurs need in order to make things happen with their employees helping every step of the way.
Only by creating a business climate that invites businesses to grow in West Virginia can we hope to dig ourselves out of our collective ditch.
Will we have to go another seventy-five years before we give the private sector solution a try?