Rankings can't be dismissed

by SamCogar Sat Aug 09, 2008 10:23 am

Friday August 8, 2008

FORBES Magazine's annual ranking of "The Best States for Business" carries a great deal of weight because it's read by people who decide where to invest money.

For the third year in a row, the mother state of Virginia came away with the title of No. 1 Best State for Business. Once again, West Virginia came away with the rank of 50th.

It annoys the political class no end when West Virginians talk about such negative rankings. They see such discussions as reinforcing damaging stereotypes.

Furthermore, no matter how hard organizations try to fine-tune their criteria, such rankings remain clumsy and imprecise.

West Virginia is 45th in quality of life, says Forbes.

That's baloney. As many corporate transplants over the decades have discovered, West Virginia is a great place to live.

But it does the state no good for residents to stand mute about rankings the international corporate community takes seriously. It would be better to look at what other states do and emulate the policies that breed success.

Virginia is right across an invisible line in the mountains, for pity's sake. Why perceptions of contiguous territory are so different demands explanations.

Virginia ranks 20th in business costs. West Virginia ranks higher at 14th.

Energy costs can't account for the difference either. Virginia's are 30 percent below the national average. West Virginia, with its coal-fired power base, surely competes on that score.

But Virginia ranks 7th in "labor," and West Virginia ranks 49th.

Virginia ranks 1st in "regulatory environment" and West Virginia ranks 50th.

Forbes ranks Virginia fifth in "best tort atmosphere." West Virginia has earned a national reputation as a "tort hell." Why keep it?

Such differences cost West Virginians a bundle.

Since January 2006, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has announced $7.4 billion in investments and the creation of 53,159 new jobs.

West Virginians deserve the opportunity to talk about news like that.

http://www.dailymail.com/Opinion/Editorials/200808080167

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