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Bad State Policies and Bad Legal Climate Cause Job Losses
In discussing the ill-conceived "Open for Business" slogan, Governor Joe Manchin has said he originally hoped the slogan would combat negative perceptions of West Virginia's business climate. "'Open for Business' was an attempt to better state's image, Manchin says," Charleston Gazette, September 20, 2007.
Unfortunately, snappy slogans aren't the solution for a broken business climate. An unfair legal system, burdensome taxes, and over-regulation have driven thousands of jobs out-of-state in the past several years.
- West Virginia manufacturing industry continues to suffer devastating losses:
- One recent publication indicates that West Virginia has suffered through the closing of 147 manufacturing companies and a loss of more than 1,500 manufacturing jobs since June 2006. "Survey: Manufacturing jobs in W.Va. continue to decline," Huntington Herald-Dispatch, August 17, 2007.
- A West Virginia University economist indicated that our state has lost approximately 2,200 manufacturing jobs during the first three months of this year, statistics that the Huntington Herald-Dispatch noted "run counter to Gov. Joe Manchin's 'Open for Business' mantra," "Survey: Manufacturing jobs in W.Va. continue to decline," Huntington Herald-Dispatch, August 17, 2007.
- Addressing our state's significant manufacturing losses, the Charleston Daily Mail noted, "State leaders opted for many years for noncompetitive tax rates on business, an unnecessarily burdensome regulatory atmosphere, and an opportunistic legal climate. These choices by the state have a direct bearing on the choices manufacturing companies make about where to locate." "W.Va. can help manufacturers: If the state chooses to compete, they could be more competitive, too." Charleston Daily Mail, August 20, 2007.
- West Virginia's once thriving chemical industry is also hurt by our "closed for business" climate:
- In twenty years, W.Va. lost nearly 42% of its chemical jobs, even though chemical industry employment nationwide dropped by only about 8%. "Chemical Makers Want to See Changes in State," The State Journal, April 30, 2004.
- In 2001, Dow Chemical provided West Virginians with 2,434 jobs. That number will have dropped to 563 jobs by the year 2009. "Dow Chemical to cut more than one-third of W.Va. jobs," The Associated Press, March 30, 2006.
- "Anyone familiar with business can rattle off the reasons [for chemical industry jobs leaving] like the days of the week - the litigious nature of the state...the tax system and a perception that the state's Supreme Court of Appeals is unfair." "Chemical Makers Want to See Changes in State," The State Journal, April 30, 2004.
- When Flexsys announced the closure of its chemical plant in Nitro, 205 West Virginians lost their jobs. Outrageous legal costs were largely to blame. "Chemical Makers Want to See Changes in State," The State Journal, April 30, 2004.
- Over the last 30 months, a variety of businesses have eliminated more than 100 jobs at a time on at least 11 occasions. Significant cut backs include:
| * Fenton Art Glass |
Parkersburg |
150 employees |
| * Spencer Veneer |
Spencer |
130 employees |
| * Verizon Call Center |
Martinsburg |
228 employees |
| * Union Stamping Plant |
South Charleston |
350 employees |
| * United Airlines Call Center |
South Charleston |
350 employees |
| * Applied Card Systems |
Huntingon |
300 employees |
| * Mittal Steel |
Weirton |
800 employees |
| * ICT Group |
Parkersburg |
131 employees |
| * Ames True Temper |
Parkersburg |
160 employees |
| * Kodak |
Middleway |
108 employees |
| * Dow |
South Charleston |
350 employees |
- Politicians are pointing to record low unemployment figures as a sign that West Virginia is "open for business." However, as the director of West Virginia University's Bureau of Business and Economic Research notes, "the unemployment rate is not a very good indicator of the standard of living in a region or a state." George Hohmann, "State unemployment at record low, but jobs in service sector, not manufacturing," Charleston Daily Mail, September 21, 2007.
That's because low unemployment does not necessarily equal good jobs or a good economy. With the sharp decline of available jobs in West Virginia's goods-producing sector, more and more of our citizens have had to find jobs in the retail industry. Those jobs aren't as high-paying as the jobs that West Virginia has lost over the years. "Fewer state residents involved in producing goods sold outside the state means less 'new money,' and ultimately, less wealth creation." Dave Peyton, "West Virginia economics don't work," Charleston Daily Mail, September 24, 2007.
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