What Are Mineral County's Priorities?

One of the biggest follies of government at any level lies in the fact that public officials often do not balance ends and means. This is a common mistake. Voters often demand changes that government cannot afford. Every small city needs more police to enforce traffic laws and curtail the drug traffic, but very few have the means to work towards that end. In an ideal world we can always find the money to do what we want. However government, business, and individuals often have to try and separate what they want from what they need.

This means setting priorities. What is most important to the people of Mineral County? Certainly a large rural county struggles to provide police protection. With only a limited number of state troopers, the county sheriff's department has a vast responsibility to serve the court and enforce the law. Mineral County's sheriff recently requested two new deputies. The county told them that only one could be funded. This occurred despite the fact that stolen property values in Mineral County jumped 158% between 2006 and 2007 to an amount well over $200,000. Education of local children remains a strong need. Outside of the schools, the county library system provides an alternative center for children and adults alike to broaden their minds. Relatively little money exists to support this important community institution.

However the county now proposes to hire new enforcement officers for the new decrepit building ordinance. There was some community demand to create an ordinance to address unsafe and unsightly conditions on various properties, although certainly it did not receive a groundswell of popular support. A law was created utilizing community input. Currently the two humane officers will be used to investigate complaints. However the decision to hire a new officer to enforce the law is an expense our county cannot afford. It seems to anticipate an extraordinary number of complaints. Do that many people seek to inconvenience their neighbors in this county? I doubt it. The county should start with the resources it has. If the complaints rise above a certain level, then by all means hire someone else. Just wait and see if it is necessary.

We ought to all be concerned about these added expenses. Folks, it is our money they are spending. Tens of thousands of dollars for a special school levy election that failed is another example. They could have piggy-backed it on the regular elections this year. Last fall it was proposed that an extremely expensive study be undertaken to explore whether or not the county has almost run out of water. Luckily Mother Nature has undertaken in the last few months to even out her dry weather with wet. Hopefully this idea has been forgotten.

Government all too often allows its ends to outstrip its means. This usually results in important issues, such as police protection, taking a backseat to issues that should be less of a priority. I would much rather have more deputies patrolling the dangerous roads of Mineral County, deterring reckless driving. I would also love to see our library be able to expand its programs to reach more children. I just don't see how various half-collapsed barns and front porches full of odds and ends warrant such a high expenditure of the people's money. The growing problem of stolen property hurts Mineral County worse than decrepit or messy structures.

Start small and work your way up. The worst case scenario is hiring additional enforcement officers and have them collecting paychecks with nothing to do while we pay higher and higher taxes.

Questions That I Cannot Answer

The specter of $4 a gallon gas is nearly upon us and there is no reason to believe that the climb will stop there. The obstacles placed in the path of getting inexpensive gasoline from the ground into your gas tank push us towards a tipping point. OPEC, the international association designed to regulate oil production, is only one aspect of the problem. Regulated supply combined with ever escalating demand has made the price of oil skyrocket. That is combined with the domestic obstacles of not tapping our own vital supplies, while relying ever increasingly upon foreign refining since we have regulated new refineries out of any possibility in this country.

In other words market pressures on oil are making it more difficult to rationalize our dependence upon this particular product. Meanwhile all energy prices rise along with oil. This produces pressures that can hurt, but also provide opportunities. This leads to my questions.

Why haven't we seen more private interest in coal liquefaction? Governor Manchin is interested and pushing for federal help. One would think that the coal companies would be interested enough to help make it happen. Are they heavily involved? If not, why?

Why are liberals so dead set against wind energy? We can put wind farms on the ridges over towns like Keyser and not ruin any natural, pristine views. If the county commission does not like it, the city ought to annex the land and reap the economic and tax benefits. The city needs money and it lacks industry. This could be a big part of a revitalized Keyser or Petersburg, or any other economically distressed town in the region near a high wind area.

Why have we as a state not looked into hydroelectric power? Tennessee gets most of their electricity from dams on small to moderate sized rivers. How many dams do we have on the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers (which we own!) Why can't we adapt Summersville and Sutton Dam for hydroelectric capabilities? Union Carbide constructed a hydroelectric plant decades ago off of the New River, which is a fairly small stream.

Why hasn't West Virginia tapped into its massive gas reserves more effectively?

At what point will market pressures eliminate the internal combustion engine? To me, we should start seeing these pressures hit a tipping point soon. The beauty of capitalism is that it rewards the forward thinking, the least expensive, and the most efficient. I'd say in ten years or maybe less we'll either see the market pressures subside drastically, or we will (more likely) witness technological revolutions that the oil companies will either be a big part of, or be destroyed by. Same with auto makers.

The best way to see development is to let the market work without excessive intervention. Push and prod, don't tax and regulate. That is how we'll see our energy questions solved most effectively.

Greear Endorsed by West Virginians for Life PAC

For Immediate Release
April 2, 2008
Contact:
Greear for AG Committee
Suzette Raines, 304-437-1306

Dan Greear endorsed by West Virginians for Life

Charleston, WV – Charleston attorney and former member of the House of Delegates, Dan Greear, proudly announces West Virginians for Life Political Action Committee has endorsed his candidacy for Attorney General.

Greear was honored and humbled by their endorsement. “This is a personal conviction rather than a political statement for me,” said Greear. “I believe we have a moral obligation to protect human life. This controversial issue is very simple for me and those who I surround myself with, abortion is wrong,” Greear said.

“When I ran for the House of Delegates I was endorsed by West Virginians for Life and I have always encompassed the same position on abortion issues. I am proud to again receive their endorsement as I seek the Office of Attorney General,” Greear added. “This endorsement sends a strong signal to Republican primary voters that I am the better candidate to represent our party against Darrell McGraw.”

Greear believes West Virginia voters take a strong stance against abortion. Greear stated, “Your position on this vital issue tells a great deal about the type of person you are and I believe most West Virginians would agree.”

Greear noted the state’s public policy on abortion issues is crafted by the Legislature and not the Attorney General. “I strongly believe that it is the duty of the Attorney General to uphold and enforce the laws passed by the Legislature,” Greear noted. Greear added his own pro-life views mirrored the views of the vast majority of both houses of the West Virginia Legislature. Melissa Adkins, Executive Director of West Virginians for Life commented, "We commend Dan Greear for his record of support for the legal protection of the unborn. As a legislator, Greear was dedicated to protecting the sanctity of life. We look forward to Greear bringing that same level of dedication to the office of Attorney General.”

Greear is a lifelong resident of Kanawha County, graduating from South Charleston High School in 1986 as a National Merit Scholar. He graduated from the WVU School of Law in the spring of 1992 where he also served as associate manuscript editor for the West Virginia Law Review. He served in the West Virginia House of Delegates representing Kanawha County’s 30th District in 1995 and 1996. Dan currently resides in South Charleston with his wife Amy, a social worker for Kanawha Hospice Care, and their two children, Joshua, 8 and Ben, 6.

Contact:Greear for AG CommitteeSuzette Raines (304) 437-1306

Mississippi showing the way for West Virgina?

In 2004 Mississippi elected Republican Governor Haley Barbour and began implementing many of the reforms that Russ Sobel calls for in his book, "Unleashing Capitalism." Mississippi is showing that the very reforms that the Democrat controlled legislature has been blocking in West Virginia can turn the economy around.

Since 2004 Mississippi's per capita income has risen by 19.5 percent while the while the national average rose only 5.2% and West Virginia only rose by 4.7%. Mississippi has managed to take the worse economy in the nation and turn the corner by enacting tax and tort reform. Those reforms have been attracting business to the Gulf state.

Now is the time for West Virginia to make the necessary changes outlined by Sobel and turn our economy around.

WVL PAC Endorses Mr. Gary Howell

MORGANTOWN -The West Virginians for Life Political Action committee (WVL PAC) is pleased to announce the endorsement of Mr. Gary Howell for the 2008 primary election for State Senate.

WVL PAC is the internal PAC for West Virginians for Life (WVFL), the state pro-life organization. WVFL is affiliated with the National Right to Life Committee and through both education and legislation is working to build a society where all human life is respected, from conception until natural death.

Melissa Adkins., WVFL Executive Director, stated, "WE commend Mr. Gary Howell for expressing commitment to the unborn."

A Comment on National Stability

This was addressed earlier in the week, but I really cannot help commenting more upon the study that rated the United States as growing more unstable.

The twentieth century saw regimes that were much more stable than the United States at that time or now. Stalin's Soviet Union in peacetime and Saddam Hussein's Iraq had little crime (outside of those committed by the government.) People did not act out or make waves. In large countries, such stability comes with a heavy price.

Smaller countries have an easier time maintaining social stability. Switzerland is also one of the most stable nations of the twentieth century and managed to avoid involvement in both world wars. The key to their stability and survival lay in the fact that they have a heavily armed population. Like the United States and Britain in an older day, an armed citizenry was seen as crucial to national defense against invaders and internal tyranny.

Speaking of stability, probably one of the most politically and socially stable regions of the United States is the Appalachian region. Crime rates remain extremely low despite other social problems. Violent crime is rare compared to other areas such as Washington DC. DC has experienced destructive riots as well as gang rule over entire neighborhoods. DC has the most restrictive gun laws anywhere while West Virginia has the most permissive. I meet young people from these urban areas all the time who come from law abiding families. They are often as strident in their defense of Second Amendment rights as we are. Who is going to protect them if a crazed crack addict tries to break into their house? An overworked police force? Suburban liberals who live behind walls and bars? Nope, just the individual and his or her weapon.

Stability is not always a good concept. Our nation is experiencing a less than stable political cycle. Poll questions constantly ask "who will best unite the country?" The fact is that we are at our most free when we are not united (except in extreme emergencies.) The sign of a healthy body politic and a free society is a little instability. Hard fought political debates over issues between knowledgable individuals is positive, not negative. Crime is something we must live with unless we want unrestrained government power monitoring and guiding our lives (parents of schoolchildren are enduring this more and more every year.) A little instability is a positive sign that we still enjoy the freest society on earth.