Post War Recessions Job Losws Compared

Job loses in Obama Recession as compared to previous post World War II recessions.

Commercializing Welcome Centers, Rest Areas Could Ease WVDOH Financial Burden

Forty some odd years ago NASA realized that a ball point pen would not write in space. They worked on the problem and spent over a million dollars to make a ball point pen that would write in zero gravity.

They were successful and developed a beautiful pen at great taxpayer’s expense, but NASA solved the wrong problem. The problem was not to make a pen write in space, but to just “write” in space. The Russians realized that they only needed to write in space, not use a ball point pen and simply used a five cent pencil instead of wasting a million dollars. The lesson is the first thing you must do to be successful in solving a problem is make sure you have identified the true problem.

At the end of November the amount of expected revenue for the West Virginia highway fund was down $14.6 million, mostly because of the poor economy. Immediately there was talk out of Charleston about raising taxes, but the tax rate is not the real problem. The real problem is the rising cost and reduced revenue. Until these problems are solved, the state’s Department of Highways will continue to have problems even in good economic times. The state must get creative on generating additional revenue and cutting cost.

There are 22 welcome centers and rest areas run by the WVDOH. Each costs approximately $500,000 a year in annual maintenance for a total of $11 million dollars. Two of these on the West Virginia Turnpike have a Federal exemption to allow them to be commercialized, which is pretty common on toll roads. However they also occur in a few other places on non-Toll Road Interstates, such as I-95 north of Baltimore, MD.

Commercialization of West Virginia’s other twenty rest areas and welcome centers could provide a partial solution to the WVDOH funding problems. As these are leased to private companies then a $10 million drain on the WVDOH would disappear as responsibility for the maintenance would shift from the state to the private companies. There would also be a revenue stream generated from the lease agreements. A drain on the state highway fund would be turned into revenue generation, all without putting any additional burden on the taxpayers.

There would also be employment benefits for the state. Each rest area at a minimum would end up with a fast food restaurant and a convenience store/gas station. The average fast food chain restaurant employs about 60 persons and the convenience store 10 persons. This would generate approximately 1,400 private sector jobs across the state from entry level fry cooks to well paid manager positions. As an example; if the two rest areas in Braxton County were commercialized in this way, the Braxton County unemployment rate could drop from 8.3% to 5.3% making it the lowest in the state.

The benefits do not stop at increased employment and reduced operating cost to the state. The free market approach also creates new tax revenue streams into the states coffers. The 1,400 new employees and the new businesses created will pay income taxes to the state. There will now be property taxes paid to the counties at the rest areas on the equipment installed where before there was none. Most important to WVDOH is the gasoline sold at the new filling stations will pay new taxes directly to the highway fund without raising taxes on struggling WV families.

In these hard economic times West Virginia must work to solve the correct problems and reduce the burden of taxes on all the people of the state in the process. We must look for new solutions to old problems and stop thinking the only solution is increasing taxes.

Left Wing Policies Dramatically Hurt the Young

Obama and Democrats generally like to tout their popularity among the youth, even to the point of hauling out pre teens to voice approval of their policy initiatives, as if America ought to follow a ten year old on the country's gravest issues. The current Democratic Congress has already substantially harmed the young when it comes to employment and threatens to do more damage in the future.

According to Walter Williams at George Mason University, teenage employment has not seen such a bleak outlook since directly after World War II. The age 16-19 group currently sees 25% unemployment. When narrowed to blacks in that age range, the percentage jumps to 50%.

Small businesses employ more people than any other sector of the market in the United States. Minimum wage hikes slash away at their miniscule profit margins, forcing them to divest themselves of the luxury of extra part time help. Instead of hiring someone, they will do extra work or get family members to help. These are the places where a kid has teh best chance to find a solid starting job that will give him income and a real reference. Many 16 to 19 year olds do not just work for extra cash. but to support families started too early.

Worse news is coming down the pike. If health care deform and the massive taxes designed to support it pass, small business will take the brunt. They will lay off even more workers or shut their doors altogether.

The minority angle on this problem was explored further by Walter Williams in the link below

http://economics.gmu.edu/wew/articles/09/CollusionAgainstOurYouth.htm

Capito: Rising Unemployment Demands Real Focus on Jobs

Capito: Rising Unemployment Demands Real Focus on Jobs, As Congress Prepares to Vote on a Trillion Dollar Health Bill, West Virginians Ask How Exploding Spending and Tax Hikes Will Create Jobs

WASHINGTON – Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., made the following statement today after the U.S. Labor Department reported that another 190,000 Americans lost their job last month, sending the national unemployment rate to 10.2 percent, the highest level in a generation:

“The economy remains the primary concern for families across our state, but instead of a clear economic agenda, this Congress remains committed to misguided policies that will burden our children and grandchildren with debt while saddling West Virginia businesses with job-killing tax hikes and regulations.

“This morning’s job report provides another sobering reminder for anyone concerned about the well-being of West Virginia families. Yet, instead of a focused effort to spur growth and get our economy moving, this Congress and this Speaker seem intent on spending yet another trillion dollars on a health care plan that will raise taxes, increase premiums and cut billions of dollars from Medicare.

“And for West Virginians who’ve seen hundreds of billions of dollars spent on a financial bailout, nearly $800 billion for a so-called stimulus package and $3.6 trillion on a budget – all sold as economic drivers – these aren’t the results they were looking for. The Washington economic agenda simply isn’t working for the American people.”

Job Numbers Contradict Claims of Stimulus Success: Where are the jobs?

WASHINGTON – As the Administration pats itself on the back for supposedly “creating or saving” 2,400 jobs in West Virginia at the hand of economic stimulus legislation, count Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., among those who are a bit more skeptical.

“For the 35,000 West Virginians who’ve lost their job since the beginning of the year, I’m not sure claims of 2,400 ‘created or saved’ amounts to anything worthy of applause,” said Capito. “Particularly when even the 2,400 is widely viewed by experts as likely inflated.”

Last week the Associated Press reported that stimulus jobs were likely over-stated by thousands, while commentary in outlets like the Wall Street Journal noted that even if taken at face value, the “created or saved” jobs miss the real issue: net jobs and the unemployment rate which have continued to rise in recent months.

“The stimulus plan was billed as a jobs bill, a private sector jobs bill,” Capito added. “Yet what we’ve seen is a $787 billion spending bill that’s falling well short of expectations. Now we’re stuck with paying for something that we didn’t order in the first place. We ordered a jobs bill, but got more unemployment and a mountain of debt instead.”

In another report penned earlier this week, the Associated Press reported that a vast majority of West Virginia’s “created or saved” jobs were centered in the government sector – contradicting the President’s previous claim that 90 percent of the stimulus jobs would be in the private sector.

In a state already feeling the heat from potential cap-and-trade legislation and continued economic uncertainty in the coal industry due to delays from Environmental Protection Agency regulators, Capito says West Virginians are anxious and concerned that they’re not getting their money’s worth when it comes to Congress’s big ticket items.

“The constituents I’m hearing from have one primary question,” she says. “Where are the jobs?”

Obama's 200 Day Downhill Ride

Unemployment Rates by County in West Virginia, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Area	May 2008	May 2009	Net Change
United States	5.2	9.1	3.9
West Virginia	4.2	8.5	4.3
Barbour County, WV	4.7	9.5	4.8
Berkeley County, WV	4.7	9.4	4.7
Boone County, WV	4.0	9.7	5.7
Braxton County, WV	4.4	8.3	3.9
Brooke County, WV	5.4	12.4	7.0
Cabell County, WV	3.8	7.2	3.4
Calhoun County, WV	5.6	14.2	8.6
Clay County, WV	5.5	11.5	6.0
Doddridge County, WV	4.5	8.0	3.5
Fayette County, WV	4.3	9.7	5.4
Gilmer County, WV	3.5	7.8	4.3
Grant County, WV	4.6	8.9	4.3
Greenbrier County, WV	4.7	10.1	5.4
Hampshire County, WV	3.8	8.4	4.6
Hancock County, WV	5.4	12.4	7.0
Hardy County, WV	4.1	9.8	5.7
Harrison County, WV	3.7	6.9	3.2
Jackson County, WV	4.8	13.2	8.4
Jefferson County, WV	3.7	7.4	3.7
Kanawha County, WV	3.5	6.9	3.4
Lewis County, WV	3.9	8.0	4.1
Lincoln County, WV	4.7	10.8	6.1
Logan County, WV	4.1	8.7	4.6
Marion County, WV	3.5	6.0	2.5
Marshall County, WV	4.5	9.3	4.8
Mason County, WV	6.7	13.0	6.3
McDowell County, WV	5.8	13.0	7.2
Mercer County, WV	3.8	7.0	3.2
Mineral County, WV	4.2	7.3	3.1
Mingo County, WV	4.1	10.4	6.3
Monongalia County, WV	2.7	4.7	2.0
Monroe County, WV	4.2	7.7	3.5
Morgan County, WV	5.4	9.4	4.0
Nicholas County, WV	4.4	9.0	4.6
Ohio County, WV	4.0	8.4	4.4
Pendleton County, WV	4.2	7.9	3.7
Pleasants County, WV	5.1	9.8	4.7
Pocahontas County, WV	9.7	17.2	7.5
Preston County, WV	3.5	7.7	4.2
Putnam County, WV	3.3	7.0	3.7
Raleigh County, WV	3.9	8.2	4.3
Randolph County, WV	5.6	10.4	4.8
Ritchie County, WV	5.1	9.8	4.7
Roane County, WV	6.0	13.2	7.2
Summers County, WV	4.5	8.2	3.7
Taylor County, WV	4.2	7.9	3.7
Tucker County, WV	6.0	12.5	6.5
Tyler County, WV	5.3	10.4	5.1
Upshur County, WV	4.2	8.2	4.0
Wayne County, WV	4.7	8.2	3.5
Webster County, WV	6.0	11.7	5.7
Wetzel County, WV	6.1	11.7	5.6
Wirt County, WV	5.9	14.0	8.1
Wood County, WV	4.6	9.5	4.9
Wyoming County, WV	4.6	12.0	7.4

NOTE: Rates shown are a percentage of the labor force. Data refer to place of residence. State and county data for both the current and prior year are subject to revision early in the following calendar year.

Is there a correlation between Unemployment and Election Results?

Senator Rockefeller’s Stimulus Numbers Don’t Add Up

On June 9^th, 2009 Senator Jay Rockefeller sent out an e@mail to many of his constituents. In the e@mail he explains why he voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the “Stimulus Act.” So far the Stimulus Act has done little to help the economy and has mostly been filled with waste, like “$18 million in additional funds are being spent to redesign the Recovery.gov Web site” as reported by Jeff Klein of ABC News on June 8^th. Peter Nichols of the LA Times reported that over 8,000 stimulus checks were mailed to dead people.

These are just a few of the things happen when our elected officials fail to read what they are voting on. You think they would be able to take the time to do their job right and actually read the bill. One of West Virginia’s representatives, Congresswoman Capito, actually did the right thing and voted “no” because enough time to go over the bill was not given. As the Stimulus Bill continues to fail the American people, those that voted for it are trying to cover their backside with the voters. Senator Rockefeller is no exception, but his numbers do not quite jive.

In the e@mail sent out the Senator states, “700,000 West Virginia families are receiving $300 million in tax cuts through the Making Work Pay Tax Credit.” There is a problem with that number. According to the US Census Bureau’s latest numbers, there are only 502,381 families in West Virginia.

Senator Rockefeller goes on to state in his e@mail, “88,000 West Virginians are benefitting from an additional $25 per week in unemployment compensation, the extension of the emergency unemployment compensation program, and the tax break on the first $2,400 in unemployment compensation benefits received in 2009.” According to the US Department of Labor’s, Bureau of Labor Statistics latest numbers there are only 68,543 unemployed in West Virginia.

This begs the question how can Rockefeller effectively represent the people of West Virginia if he can’t take the time to read the bills that affect us? Rockefeller voted for a bad bill without having the time to read it. He sends an e@mail trying to justify his voting for the bad bill, but portions of the information are just flat wrong. It took less than 5 minutes on the internet for one person to get the correct data, while the Senator with a full staff couldn’t get it right. Rockefeller’s e@mail states, “West Virginians deserve economic policies that will support them through these tough times.” I agree, but I also believe West Virginia deserves a representative takes the time to read bills before he votes on them and takes time to look up the correct information before making a decision for the people of West Virginia. You can’t make good decisions with bad information.

Potomac Highland Readers Support Drug Testing

This weeks poll asked:

Should lawmakers pass a bill requiring people who receive government assistance, such as welfare, unemployment, food stamps, etc, be required to pass a drug test in order to receive those taxpayer funded benefits?

75% Responded Yes
25% Responded No

The Sample Size was 49

Maryland, what a neighbor

I have had a couple of run-ins with the state of Maryland and I am growing more and more irritated with MD's state government.

The first happened shortly after my tags expired on my vehicle. I had moved in the time period that property taxes are calculated (July 2006) and thus had not received my property tax bill from Harrison County, and did not have records on file for Mineral County. I knew that I needed to renew my tags, but had neglected to do so as I hate paying my property taxes 2 months early just to renew my tags. The Sherriff's office helped me to find my bill, but phone payment was not an option. I was going to be passing through Harrison county in the next week, so I decided to pay in person on my way to Charleston. While I waited to get the highly coveted paid receipt so that I could renew my tags my wife had a baby. I drove my vehicle between Keyser and Oakland in order to watch my daughter at home and be with my wife and new baby at the hospital. On the final trip I was pulled over by a MD state trooper because one of my three brake lights was out. He noticed that my tags had expired earlier in the month and wrote a $60 citation for expired WV tags. I took the ticket because, like most, I am an easy target for the police to pull over and fine. I still don't understand why I should pay MD $60 when I had been working on the issue, which in WV is not as easy as going to the DMV and paying to renew your tags. It takes several steps and visits to the assessors office, the sheriff's office, and then the DMV to get your tags renewed. I believe that a WV trooper would have understood and possibly cut me a little slack since my wife had just had a baby 2 days prior.

Next, a recently discharged employee and WV resident filed for MD unemployment. I questioned why the filing was in MD and asked how this could affect me since I don't have a MD unemployment account. I was given a phone number to call and proceeded to do so on 3 occasions. After 1/2 hour wait times I would hang up in order to continue working. Today I was called by MD Unemployment and threatened with a fine if I did not immediately fax the form that I received back to them. Correction: a staff member was told to pass this message on to me and direct me to immediately return their call. I explained why I had not already done this ( I needed to know what, if any affect this would have on my payroll withholdings and whether this would create a MD unemployment account), to which I received vague answers of "it won't, don't worry about it", and an explanation that wait times for their division are usually fairly long. I went ahead and faxed the form to avoid a fine and penalty from our neighbor to the north. Yet another unpaid obligation that is levied against small business people. It took roughly 1/2 hour to complete the form and fax it, plus the 2 hours of phone calls. I am tempted to send an invoice to MD for services rendered. Perhaps I can get my $60 vehicle fine back.

The Economy bad? Are you crazy? Remember 1983?

1983 Unemployment topped out at 10.8% and now it is around 4.7% for the latest numbers.

In 1983 the Dow basically remained flat for the previous 15 years, for the past 15 years the Dow has increased nearly 400%.

In 1983 the prime interest rate was at 11%, which was down from 20.50% just 2 years prior. Today it is at 7.25%.

For those saying the economy is bad, I can't imagine what they would think if we had 1983 numbers today.

Let's face it the numbers look pretty good right now. Most people that can afford a home have one. Most of us are employed, and most have stocks, mutual funds, and IRAs that giving us pretty good returns.

Maybe it is fast foods fault? You walk into a fast food place and you have 3 sizes of drinks Medium, Large, and Extra Large. You have the same thing with Pizza's Medium, Large, and Extra Large. What happened to the small? Perhaps people are looking at the economy with fast food eyes, good, great, and outstanding economy.

The good or great economy we are in right now is not the doom and gloom people are talking. The economy is strong. If we had 1983 numbers today, then would people be willing to except small drinks and small pizzas?