April 15, 2017

You really can't make this **** up

The website WalletHub recently came up with a list of the best and worst places for millennials to live. It's no surprise that West Virginia came out on the bottom. But, as my friend Stephen Smith wrote with Pastor Mason Ballard, it's the best state to come to if you want to make a difference. And God knows we need that.

One of the reasons WV is unattractive to newcomers is the fact that it's kind of falling apart and the Republican majority in the legislature wants to pass a poverty budget that keeps things that way. Gazette-Mail reporter Phil Kabler had a great riff on that theme in the first part of this column.

One thing that could make things better is a budget that invests in people and infrastructure, as Gov. Jim Justice has proposed. Some of us were hoping he would veto the  legislature's proposed budget. And some of us, including me, sounded the  alarm and urged people to contact the governor in support of a veto.

I guess that's something to scratch off the list. And that's no (metaphorical) BS.

Two last thoughts:

*first, this really is the year of political props; and

*second, as I've argued before, we really should change the state motto from "Mountaineers are always free" to "You can't make this **** up" At least until we deserve the old motto again.

1 comment:

Noneofyourbusiness said...

80 years of tax and spend Democrats created a huge mess when the bottom dropped out of the coal market and revenues caved. That cannot be fixed in a couple years and will likely bring some pain with it. Spending ourselves deeper into a hole cannog end well for anyone except for the Democrats who want to use it asxa club to recapture the legislative majority. The idea that you can tax the state into prosperity has been refuted time and time again. What is needed is a disciplined pruning of the waste and abuse thatis rampant within DHHR, DOT etc. Clean house...end rced unionism and level the playing field to increasd competition. New business will not come to a state that is raising the tax burden. Take a look at what is happening. In NY & CA...capital flight. Our Governor "no tax increases" Justice is spewing the BS from his two-faced view. Neither will help. Then again, paying his rax bill might be a good start.