Statehouse beat: Survey says: WV business climate worse under GOP

In 2015, Republicans took control of the Legislature and proceeded to grow those majorities into supermajorities while capturing all statewide elected offices. They also grew pro-business conservative majorities in the state Supreme Court and newly created Intermediate Appeals Court.

Republicans committed themselves to their version of business friendliness:

• Enacting the union-busting right-to-work law

• Repealing the prevailing wage

• Weakening child labor laws

• Repealing or weakening environmental and workplace safety regulations

• Providing multi-millions in tax incentive dollars and direct financial incentives to recruit businesses

On top of that, they enacted a series of income tax cuts that slashed tax rates, a move that advocates such as then-Gov. Jim Justice assured us would bring businesses and people pouring into the state.

After more than a decade of such presumptive pro-business measures, where can we suppose the newly released 2026 edition of “Top States For Business� ranks West Virginia — 35th, 30th, perhaps 25th?

Try 46th.

Yes, after more than a decade of GOP control, the state’s business climate is actually worse today than it was in 2007.

In specific categories, the state fell from 44th to 48th in economy. In workforce, West Virginia dropped from 42nd to 44th. The cost of doing business went from 15th to 27th, the latter no doubt the result of soaring utility costs, thanks to the supermajority’s subservience to coal.

The state did improve from 48th to 44th in technology, and after Justice mortgaged the state’s future by issuing $3 billion in road bonds, the state’s ranking on infrastructure improved from 41st to … 40th.

CNBC said of the nation’s third-worst economy: “West Virginia is not handling the transition from a coal-centered economy to whatever comes next.�

Perhaps that’s because the Republican supermajority refuses to concede that the state economy is no longer coal-centered.

The article noted the state has the lowest workforce participation rate in the country, and went on to say, “Economic growth and job growth rank near the bottom.�

So much for Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s economic “Backyard Brawl,� which he announced in his inaugural address by stating, “Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky — we’re coming for you.�

Ohio ranked first in the CNBC survey, Virginia was third, Pennsylvania 13th, Kentucky 27th and Maryland 36th.

Morrisey, arguably, has only had a year and a half to work on business issues, but the Legislature has been under GOP control for 11½ years, and most of their so-called pro-business measures have been in place for a decade or more.

They can’t claim that the changes haven’t had time to take effect, or that they just need to get the word out to potential investors. No, they have to own up to the reality that their pro-business policies are a bust.

Obviously, the key here is that employers need a readily available and competent workforce, and the Republican supermajority has done nothing to improve workforce participation. Systematically, the supermajority has financially starved public schools and higher education, assuring that there not only are not enough workers, but not enough workers who are able to competently perform 21st century jobs.

Yet, Republicans have managed to convince voters that they are both pro-workers and pro-jobs when, in fact, they are neither.

Perhaps if they redouble their efforts, maybe in few years they can get West Virginia back to 44th.

Poor planning

I’ll follow up here up on Morrisey’s expensive but underwhelming Capital City Celebration to commemorate America 250.

One of the event workers, who has also worked for years at the annual Vandalia Gathering, told me just how poorly organized the celebration was compared to Vandalia.

Planning that is done months in advance for Vandalia was done on the fly for the celebration, the worker said, with decisions being made even down to the week of July 4.

Given that Vandalia is an annual event, with most scheduled events recurring from year to year, the amount of planning necessary would seem to be far less than for a unique, one-time event like the Capital City Celebration.

The worker confirmed that, except for concerts, attendance was light, and guests were disappointed by the paucity of activities beyond riding the Ferris wheel.

I’m also told that costs of the celebration have been spread out among so many state agencies, it will be difficult to get a handle on the total bill to the taxpayers. If we still had a functioning legislative auditor’s office, a complete financial audit would be in order.

Which brings us to the peculiar timing of the announcement that state Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby will be stepping down at the end of the month. The news came just four days after the celebration ended, while the giant Ferris wheel was still being dissembled. The timing was particularly questionable, given that Ruby has served as Tourism commissioner/secretary for more than nine years, including both terms of the Justice administration.

Had Ruby previously agreed to stay on through the America 250 celebration, or was she made to take the fall for the governor and first lady’s dissatisfaction with the low turnout?

Ruby was executive director of the West Virginia Sesquicentennial Commission, which put on a much more impressive celebration on the Capitol grounds in 2013, so it seems unfair to blame her for the blah-ness of this event.

Speculation is that, given that Ruby’s husband, Steve, is personal attorney and frequent spokesperson for Sen. Justice, Morrisey’s political rival, that Ruby’s tenure in the Morrisey administration was tenuous to begin with.

Reflections on the Reflecting Pool

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool debacle continues to exemplify the derangement of President Donald Trump and the sycophancy of his minions — including our own elected officials.

As often occurs, it all started with a legitimate concern. In this instance, it was ongoing maintenance issues with the 104-year-old landmark.

Instead of consulting experts, Trump awarded a no-bid contract (which started out at $1.5 million but grew to more than $16 million) to a political crony with dubious qualifications.

As a kicker, Trump insisted on replacing the gray surface with a dark blue coating, even though anyone who has taken Biology 101 knows that a dark pool surface causes water to heat more rapidly, and warm pool water is an effective medium for growing algae.

Sure enough, the pool looked great for about two days. Then the algae growth overtook it, giving it the look of pea soup, or — shall we say it — an undrained swamp.

Trump’s minions responded by pouring large quantities of industrial strength hydrogen peroxide into the pool, even though anyone who has taken Chemistry 101 would tell you the chemicals could cause the new liner’s epoxy sealant to dissolve.

Sure enough, pieces of the new coating began peeling away and floating to the surface of the pool. As a side effect, the peroxide-infused water also killed several ducklings.

At that point, a sane, rational person would throw up his hands, admit defeat, and call experts to fix the mess.

Rather than concede defeat, Trump made the ludicrous, unfounded claim that the pool had been vandalized by a person or persons using a box cutter or knife to damage the lining -- a gash that grew with each Trump retelling from 100 feet eventually to a whopping 300 yards.

Never mind that the Reflecting Pool is probably the most surveilled body of water in the country, and there is no evidence, video or eyewitnesses to support Trump’s wild assertion.

Indeed, when the pool was drained this week for further repairs, there was no evidence of a gash of any sort, not 300 yards, not 100 feet, not two feet. There did appear to be tire tracks on the surface, perhaps the result of Trump’s ill-conceived order to have the presidential motorcade with its many heavy armored vehicles drive over the pool surface while repairs were underway.

Clearly, if there was any damage to the pool surface, it was damage that resulted not from vandalism, but from Trump’s own motorcade.

Nonetheless, the Justice Department has actually brought charges against at least six people comporting with Trump’s absurd allegations, including charging former Olympian David Hearn with a felony count of destruction of property.

Adding to the absurdity, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro — one of several former Fox News personalities Trump appointed to positions of authority — claimed Hearn caused the damage, not with a box cutter, knife, or machete, but with his bare hands.

It should be disturbing to every American that the Justice Department is using baseless claims by King Trump as grounds to arrest individuals. That is real authoritarian stuff.

Surely, we would expect our elected officials to stand up en masse and condemn such an outright nonsensical travesty of justice.

Yet, once again, we have heard not one peep from our congressional delegation, legislators, governor or other statewide elected officials over this travesty of justice.

From claiming that the 2020 election was stolen, or that the Jan. 6 insurrection was a peaceful protest, to any number of other falsehoods, with few exceptions, our leaders have refused to call Trump out on his lies and nonsensical assertions.

Will they ever find the fortitude to do the right thing and stand up to Trump when he makes such patently false and baseless claims?