Dan Page "Unless we can agree that we have a problem, we can't fix the problem."

August 10, 2010

"West Virginia will realize the prosperity we see in the rest of America," Dan Page told Putnam Rotarians today, " when we start behaving like the rest of America.

"It isn't terribly complicated," said the editor/publisher of the State Journal. "It's pretty simple. But for some reason we . . . want to resist change.

"The Workers' Comp reform of 2006 was the biggest triumph of the last forty, fifty years in West Virginia. But it was like pulling teeth. The sky was going to fall, the world was going to end, if we reformed Workers' Comp and became like the rest of America," said Page.

"Without the creation of wealth, not much good can happen . We can't build roads. We can't build schools. We can't build communities and provide for our children to the extent we would like to."

But we live in a time of growing opportunity, he said. "Some American manufacturing companies who have moved their operations offshore are starting to look at the United States as a place to come back to. Labor costs are increasing overseas. Transportation of goods is becoming so expensive that costs here are becoming more manageable, more acceptable, to people who have to invest and get businesses started and create products.

"So the question is, is West Virginia prepared to invite manufacturing back to a state that was once a manufacturing powerhouse.

"You will recall . . . -- that Kanawha Valley, the Ohio River Valley, the north-central part of the state -- saw the glass industry go away. Then you had the coal mines in the northern part of the state go away after the 1990 Clean Air Act. But let's just remember that we were a manufacturing state as well as an energy state back in the 20th century.

"Are we prepared prepared today if some of these companies -- Caterpillar, GE, some of these large companies -- start looking more favorably at domestic manufacturing? Are we going to be part of that formula? Well, we don't have the Workers' Comp problem to the extent that we did, but we still have some challenging problems.

"One is the tax we impose on manufacturing equipment, that virtually no other state in this country imposes.

"Williamstown is the home of Fenton Art Glass Company, . . . arguably the finest, locally owned, privately owned company in the state. They are kind. They are generous. They helped build that community. They've employed literally hundreds and hundreds of families. They produce a product that has been tremendously successful and highly recognized. And we identify as West Virginians with Fenton Art Glass.

"Back about four or five years ago, they got behind in their tax payments and one of the huge factors on their tax ticket was the personal property on their manufacturing equipment.

"Well, they are in a tough business. And they depreciate their equipment. They don't even have to replace their equipment all that often, because it's just the nature of the business.

"A piece of equipment may have been fifteen years old, but they were having to pay a property tax on that piece of equipment. And it was expensive.

"Down the road within a mile of that plant, Hino Motors opened, . . . and people in Wood County were ecstatic about getting that plant in there. It was a great 'get' for Wood County.

"Hino Motors, however, has the benefit of not paying personal property tax on the manufacturing equipment because the Wood County Development Authority bought the equipment and leased it to the company at virtually no cost.

"We're glad to have Hino. There's no question about that. But is this not an acknowledgement that there's a problem? If the state of West Virginia through the various organizations are saying, 'We'll let you here. Come in here and you don't have to pay -- although all these other guys do.'

"That is a systemic public policy problem of significant magnitude. Are we prepared to welcome manufactures back into the state after we've seen them leave? I would say we'd better address this problem. And we'd better do it quickly.

"We also have some civil justice problems in West Virginia," Page continued. "The trial lawyers -- and some of my best friends are trial lawyers -- they've been picking over the bones of our industrial past for a long time now.

"Little old West Virginia, we're in the headlines! They had three judgments within the last five years that were among the biggest in the country: the one in Spelter in Harrison County, the Wood County mess with DuPont -- the C8 problem, and then the Roane County decision with the gas situation.

"So, we're in the headlines again, and those are not good headlines for those of us who would like to see capital attracted to this state, come in here, start business, start manufacturing, start producing. . . . . because you're playing Russian roulette with your assets. And that's not a good game to play.

"We, as Americans, want to see justice prevail, but justice doesn't have too much to do with some of the stuff we've seen in our court system.

"So how do you fix what's broken?" he asked the group.

"We will start enjoying the American dream when we start acting like the rest of America, and we can only do that by sending people to the West Virginia Legislature who reflect the views and values of Main Street West Virginians. We're not doing that.

"Change cannot occur unless we change the people who represent us. I sometimes marvel that we embrace the same folks and they carry the same message to the same Legislature, year after year. And we're expecting different results."

Page cited the example of a legislator who had continually blocked reform legislation. "When he went away," said Page, "within two years the medical malpractice question was dealt with, some additional civil justice reforms came on board, came alive. . . .

"On medical malpractice, they couldn't even get the doctors behind it. But then it got so bad that they got on board. And I haven't seen them since. And I love doctors. Some of them are my best friends.

"Why don't we do something about this (manufacturing property) tax? Politically, it's a tough sell.

"It's a tough sell to the county commissions, to the school boards, because they have a revenue stream -- I would argue it's a diminishing revenue stream. In many counties it's diminished a great deal -- but it's the only revenue stream we've got.

"Charleston (the Legislature) absorbs all the power, and it lets the local officials try to figure it out on their own." He cited the case of a small town which survived by selling water to local public service utilities. "You have to be really creative to make some of these towns work,

"And some of these towns aren't working because all the authority is soaked up in the (Legislature). People come (to the Legislature) and they have their sessions and their special sessions, and nothing much gets done, and we go back home and we have to sell water to pay our bills.

"In a culture of competition, it would be great if we had competition for ideas. And we don't do that very well in this state, because traditions die hard.

"Both parties have failed, one by not leading and one by not knowing how to lead.

"The people who come to West Virginia to protest about our coal mining: It seems to me that a lot of those are young people who are very idealistic.

"Most of them are liberal arts majors in college. They're very sensitive, and they can write well. They can manage the media very well.

"But what they're projecting for us is something that they can't help fix -- unless they start going to some math classes and take engineering courses and become scientists.

"We understand you think we have a problem. What are you doing to help us fix this? If carbon emissions are a problem, how are we going to fix it? English majors aren't able to do that. Why don't you become an engineer and quit spending time down here marching?"

As his speaking time expired, Dan Page assured the group that they could follow his editorial opinions in future editions of the State Journal. "We try to be reasonable," he said, "and the bar isn't very high."