This page last updated: Wed., January 26, 2005, 4:27:11 AM EST

January 26, 2005
 
COMMENTARY: In Search of An Economy
 
by Ty Ridgway
Huntington News Network Contributing Columnist
 
Huntington (HNN) — Much hand-wringing and haggling is going on in Charleston as state legislators and Gov. Manchin and his administrators debate the best way to remedy the state's debt-ridden Workers' Compensation fund. High workers' comp premiums are generally seen as a significant impediment towards getting West Virginia back on track economically. Simply put, small and large businesses balk at paying premium fees for the "privilege" of doing business in West Virginia.
 
The Manchin Administration should be congratulated for stating the obvious and keeping a laser beam of concentration on it; for businesses to come to West Virginia and grow here, we must have a more competitive, preferably privatized Workers' Comp system — sooner rather than later.
 
But if Manchin succeeds in significantly reducing the workers' comp debt, which should lead to lower premiums for businesses in West Virginia, then what's the next step? How does West Virginia finally compete with our surrounding states after all these years?
 
Manchin has not been without a couple of ideas on this front. He talks about coal-fired power plants, an old Arch Moore idea, but one with real potential as the East Coast continues to need more energy — why not us as their supplier? The transportation costs would be extremely low, as plants could be placed strategically near some of the state's remaining rich coal seams. The rest can be done through wires and grids, with more ancillary businesses serving the power plants, and the coal industry providing more jobs.
 
That's a start — coal is an oldie but a goodie for us in West Virginia, especially with a nation that wants desperately to get less dependent on Middle Eastern oil. However, that's just one of several ideas that Governor Manchin and the business community need to foster if West Virginia is going to survive, let alone flourish.
 
When the legislature finally understands that there will be no budget for spending programs, and when there is an increasingly dwindling economy, hopefully the whole business climate will get a well-earned break. After all, there still are not enough statehouse and courthouse jobs for all of us, even though it may seem that the legislators try to give each family one.
 
The state that doesn't create goods and services in the private sector is begging for hard times when the economy takes a dip. After Manchin fixes workers' comp, he should do what ever it takes to knock a little business sense into the heads of those brilliant legislators, many of whom do not possess either a business or a college degree. It just makes business sense.