Issue Position: Economic Growth

Issue Position

When it comes to the economy, West Virginia has remained near the bottom. Out of all 50 states in the union, West Virginia has ranked 50th in business and jobs too many times, by too many different organizations in the country. Why is this? Well, to truly understand overall business and employment growth, we must first understand the fundamentals of economics. Too many politicians in our state either fail to understand these economic laws, or simply ignore them. But pretending that economic laws don't exist only continues to worsen our economic hardships. We must give our residents the opportunity to reverse course, and ensure that our children have a chance to flourish!

The economy in West Virginia did not become poor and impoverished overnight, and thus it cannot become prosperous overnight. But taking critical steps now can indeed place our state at the forefront of prosperity in the long term. Acting now can lead to our kids one day going to work near home, earning an honest, livable wage--supporting their family with a higher sustainable income--and at the end of the day, being able to take pride in one's work. This is my vision, and to accomplish this, we must figure out why this has not been able to come to fruition for a large portion of West Virginia residents.

To understand sound economics, we must also understand government policy, for the two are hand in hand. In large part, our economy in West Virginia has slowed to a halt directly because our government has become bloated. Over 35% of all consumption in West Virginia comes from our state government, meaning all dollars that are spent within our state's borders comes at the hand of government. This figure becomes even larger when government-connected businesses (such as contractors and government-protected firms) are factored into the equation.

As the government consumes more and more resources, it leaves behind fewer and fewer resources for private individuals to develop or maintain. There is little economic difference between high taxation and outright theft--and in actuality; theft is easier to deal with. For example, a business that is robbed by a criminal can prevent the same criminal act from occurring in the future. It can hire better security, or relocate to a safer neighborhood, and in the future--increase its productivity with this added protection. But when government does the looting, there is no "protection". One is forced over and over again to hand over their income to the state, leaving the same, predictable result in place. When our state government engages in high taxation for extended periods of time, one consequence is for individual producers to "escape" this over taxation, and leave West Virginia (or hire more lobbyists and divert resources away from the market and into more centralized government). As the decades have past, our declining population has stemmed from this simple scenario.

A government can easily become a self-perpetuating ogre, which not only taxes away the very society it was implemented to protect, but one that also can destroy the very productive-fabric which is responsible for a civilized free Republic. The division of labor is a concept that creates a system of voluntary exchange, and the further accumulation of capital. Voluntary exchange is the root of American prosperity, and this system of profit and loss relies strictly on the protection of private property and individual liberty.

Taxes, regulations, and inflation not only steal and direct resources away from our current economy, but these policies also serve to prevent future production from taking place. It should not be surprising that the amount of laws and taxes currently on the books in West Virginia serve as a giant wall which prevents any sort of real meaningful economic progress from taking place across our state.

Here are just a few simple overt examples:

· The legislative branch continues to pass regulation after regulation in Charleston--which creates uncertain conditions for entrepreneurs and businesses to engage in more productive activities of commerce (instead of hiring an employee in the field, perhaps a business hires a lobbyist instead).

· The judicial system in West Virginia fails to protect voluntary contract, which makes companies weary about locating their headquarters in our state. Larger companies within our state's borders are viewed sometimes as "cash cows" or "piggy banks", in which the redistribution of income can take place via our court system in exchange for more government power, or to achieve victory in the next judicial election. (West Virginia currently has not one company which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, strongly indicating a reluctance to invest capital within our state).

· The Governor's office issues executive orders to write laws and enact legislation, without proper passage through the people's representatives in the legislature. Unelected bureaucrats are often given free-reign to enact laws and convoluted regulations, controlling business enterprise and the disposition of private property from Charleston (it requires 13 permits or licenses to open a gas station in West Virginia. Many states require as few as 1).

Free markets and the protection of liberty requires the limitations of government meddling, much of which results in "crony-capitalism", or the ability for politically-connected people to profit or make money through the use of force--and not voluntary cooperation in the market. Regulations which are passed must only be done in order to strengthen the rule of "Life, Liberty, and Property". In essence, this concept requires very little government oversight, because the people--with little intervention--typically know better than anyone how to spend their earnings or take care of their own property. Only the individual knows what is best for the individual. Bureaucrats can only "guess" and though these nanny regulations which govern people's daily lives are often done with good intentions, they become destructive in the long run and the productivity of the economy is drained by the central planners in our government.

The more regulations that are passed which infringe upon the most basic natural rights, the more resources in the economy become focused on using this process to regulate away competition through government, causing more political corruption, and the perpetual interests of Big Bureaucracy, Big Business, and Big Labor. More trial lawyers are needed to sort through the regulations, which are often times unreadable (meaning they make more money with more government power). And those who do infringe upon the common rule of law (by committing fraud or destruction of property for instance) often times are able to avoid justice--as long as they have enough trial lawyers, armed with complicated regulations, to hide behind.

The increased regulations never actually protect the consumer, or the common individual. They always end up protecting Big Business from competition, Big Labor from voluntary contract, or Big Bureaucrats from budget cuts. And these crony laws always lead to the misallocation of resources into more and more government lobbying--for everyone wants to control the Power, never relinquish it. In essence, special groups privileged with the force of government profit at the expense of society's health.

Voluntary exchange, under simple free markets, always leads to a greater abundance of resources, falling prices for the consumer (utility bills, gasoline, food prices, low taxes), and an increased amount of opportunity for employment and higher incomes. Private organizations and charities, churches, parishes, fraternal organizations all become much more important in the community, as people have more resources to donate, and no moral hazard that says "Oh, the government is doing that job. I don't have to volunteer at the soup kitchen."

Over the long run, the greatest amount of people is served by this system of voluntary exchange. Under the rule of law, prices always tend to fall, producing a greater standard of living for everyone involved, especially the poor. Real crime decreases, justice is upheld more frequently, and corruption is less likely to rule the day. The government cannot become a criminal enterprise, and expect private crime to not follow suit.

In spite of this common sense, politicians in West Virginia have become demagogues and fear mongers. In order to protect their power and influence, they will tell you that freedom is the "freedom from wants, or the freedom from poverty", and that government must provide this freedom through corporate or basic welfare handouts. This is not freedom. Freedom can never be about relieving the natural state of man. Life is uncomfortable and indeed, the history of the world has shown us that it is only through the free development of resources that this state of discomfort and poverty is relieved, and ultimately vanquished to minimal levels in society.

In the long run, largesse in centralized government tends to destroy production, leads to less savings, increases consumption, causes the business cycle and our economic depressions, and creates conditions whereby no one is served except those special interests in Charleston. Cutting back the scale of permits, licenses, fees, taxes, and burdensome mandates is critical to allowing our economy to flourish.

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