but there's not a wealth creator in the bunch

Finally, a DM Editor had the nerve to publically state what I have been saying for years on these Forums.

West Virginia needs more wealth creators

When Wal-Mart and government are the top employers, trouble's ahead

The No. 1 employer in West Virginia is government. More than 130,000 people in West Virginia work for government at all levels. That is roughly one in five workers in the state.

As individuals they pay taxes like everyone else, but the bottom line is that their pay and benefits are supported by the taxes from the labors of the rest of the state.

According to WorkForce West Virginia's report on the state and its 55 counties, not enough of the jobs held by the four in five employees who do not work for government are wealth-producing.

The top private employer in the state in March was Wal-Mart, followed by West Virginia United Health System and Charleston Area Medical Center.

Kroger finished fourth, followed by American Electric Power, Eldercare Resources Corp., St. Marys Hospital and CSX/CSX Hotels.

It is not until ninth place that a wealth producer is listed, Consolidation Coal Co., followed by Lowe's Home Centers.

The next wealth producer is Mylan Inc. at No. 11, followed by Pilgrim's Pride at No. 16 and DuPont at No. 17.

In Kanawha County, the Chemical Valley has become Government Gulch. The top employers (both public and private) are CAMC, followed by the Kanawha County Board of Education, Thomas Memorial Hospital, the Postal Service, Wal-Mart, the state Division of Highways, the city of Charleston, Kroger, the state Department of Health and Human Resources, and the state Department of Administration.

All these functions are needed, but there's not a wealth creator in the bunch.

http://www.dailymail.com/Opinion/Editorials/200909150256

Employees of any government entity, any government funded non-profit or any private individual receiving un-earned money from a government entity ....... does not pay any taxes.

It is silly and asinine for anyone to think that a person can pay taxes to pay themselves.



.

And that's why the Kanawha Valley is going to hell in a handbasket. My brother runs freight and has since the mid to late 60's and my dad was involved in freight from the time he came home from WW2 so he's been around it all his life. He can remember when there were trucking companies out the wazoo and Dupont would literally take any trailer they could get to ship fright.

Now you can't even find an OTR company in the valley. All you have is a LTL carriers and they rarely if ever run full trailers. We've went from a manufacturing industry to a service one and it is not sustainable, at least not for the long run.

That's why Charleston is on this list.

Thanks for the link, Aaron. Very excellent reading.

I wonder who the economists are influencing the present administrations in the United States as well as in West Virginia (and Illinois, for that matter).

State employees in Charleston couldn't stand "the smell" of those money generating manufacturers and forced them to leave the Valley.

amen. And yet #17 DuPont is under attack all over the state. The people at Lubeck have problems with their ground water and the folks at Spelter have selected DuPont as the cause of all their problems. I say "selected" because DuPont owned the smelter only for a few years. They appear to have the deepest pockets to defend against the lawsuits.

Yes. I think we owe it to our employers to indemnify them from some of these lawsuits. Should DuPont be given free rein to foul the ground water at Lubeck with C8? No, but then any Jody who claims to be C8 infested should not be granted a pot of DuPont money.

There's a balance there. If we continue to drive our employers out of the state then we will have none.

The only thing I even remotely disagree with on this thread is the blame being placed on State Employees. It isn't state employees that is to blame. it is the blood sucking legislature and moonbat governor along with the past pile of monkey dung that has filled the halls of the capitol.

Some years ago, our oldest daughter graduated from high school. Her class was a good class with many high achievers in it. Of that class the top 5% chose to go to school out of state. I went to our local delegate and expressed my concern about this fact. I explained the the top 5 to 10% of graduating classes usually went out of state to school and then never returned. I explained that even if they attended school in state they left once they graduated.

This was the man's answer. He informed me that "the trough" located in Hardy and Hampshire counties was a mini-New River Gourge. I kid you not. I was dumbfounded. It is seldom I am left with nothing to say, but that was one time I was totally speachless. I guess his views of things was that kids could go and get a degree in math or physics and then set along Corridor H and sell trinkets to the flatlanders.

What an idiot. However, he is representative of the caliber of inidividual one finds in the legislature. There is where the problem is. You all are right they are destorying the state. What business would want to locate here and be taxed and regulated to death? However, the morons in the legislature can't seem to grasp that concept.

Cato

Don't ya'll be fergettin now,

If new businesses locate to WV,

many new people will also relocate to WV,

and a lot of new smart, industrious people will likely affect who gets elected.

We'll have to disagree on this one as well Cato. I spent yesterday at the DMV and once again, I have little to no use for state employees.

They forget they work for the taxpayers and they're where they are to serve the taxpayers yet they somehow think that because they work for the state, they have some sort of authority over the public.

If I had to deal with them daily, I would end up in jail sooner rather then later.

Privatize as much as humanly possible and hide the rest in one office in Paw Paw somewhere and we would all be better off.

Aaron wrote:We'll have to disagree on this one as well Cato. I spent yesterday at the DMV and once again, I have little to no use for state employees.

They forget they work for the taxpayers and they're where they are to serve the taxpayers yet they somehow think that because they work for the state, they have some sort of authority over the public.

If I had to deal with them daily, I would end up in jail sooner rather then later.

Privatize as much as humanly possible and hide the rest in one office in Paw Paw somewhere and we would all be better off.

I don't disagree Aaron that many state employees are boneheads. Having just dealt with the DEP, I agree. I have worked with my share and been an employee of the state. I have seen about every form of behavior that can exist in the work place. I have worked around supervision that didn't care and wouldn't take any responsibility. I have been around employees who I believe only funtion in life was to complain. No Aaron, I won't argue this with out at all and like you I can't deal with them on a full time basis.

However, I just don't look at them as the cause of the problem. I will agree many state employees and many teachers for that matter haven't a clue who they work for or who pays their salary. However, it still remains that the CAUSE of the problem is the legislature who have created and given life to the agencies and laws that we all now have to deal with. If anyone is ever going to straighten this mess out, it will need to start at the top by replacing the idiots in the legislature.

Agreed. And if I can ever get those 3 ex wives, 17 kids and indecency exposure conviction behind me, I plan on running one day. My first action will be to fire everyone that works for the state.

They forget they work for the taxpayers and they're where they are to serve the taxpayers yet they somehow think that because they work for the state, they have some sort of authority over the public.

Yes, because all state agencies are exactly like the DMV.

The department of ag and it's role is actually allowed for in the state constitution. Our commissioner is elected and you will NEVER be treated poorly by an of us. We would lose our jobs.

Then the ag is the exception, not the rule?

Then the ag is the exception, not the rule?

I think so. Most of my duties involve the public and I frequently get "thank-you" notes.

Having an elected official likely helps. Because reelection relies on good public perception, how we treat the public is a topic that comes up again and again.

You would have to see for yourself. Of course, it is easier to just keep painting with that big brush.

Sorry but I don't have a reason to deal with the AG department. If I ever do, I'm sure it will be a pleasant experience.