West Virginia Blue
The Best Blogging Community in West Virginia Democratic politics, progressive policies, the good life and free living in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia.
The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) came out today in support of legislation introduced by Congressman Nick J. Rahall, II (D-WV), the Ranking Member on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, that would strengthen Buy America laws and would require Federal agencies to be more transparent in reporting where taxpayer dollars are being spent.
I for one was appalled to find out the steel for the replacement of earthquake damaged bridges in the San Francisco area was foreign. Nicky Ray and a lot of other people know it doesn't make any sense.
West Virginia is called the Mountain State for good reason. We enjoy some of the most beautiful terrain in the country. But that natural beauty can come at a price for rural citizens and businesses; it is costly and difficult for many broadband providers to bring service into these areas.
In a poll of economic development professionals in West Virginia, 78 percent said it's been their experience that "businesses considering locating in their areas place high priority on access to affordable, high-speed Internet when evaluating site selections." With businesses placing such a high premium on broadband access, West Virginia can't afford to be left behind in today's digital economy.
According to a new study by Deloitte, the deployment of 4G LTE wireless technology has the potential to create up to 771,000 American jobs through 2016. Because of the mountainous terrain and high cost of deploying wire line access here, wireless broadband is the most cost effective way for rural West Virginians to access broadband.
One example of how 4G LTE can help West Virginia expand wireless access and spur economic development is the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile. According to the Communications Workers of America, the merger has the potential to "create as many as 96,000 new, quality jobs, accelerate broadband build out, and improve wireless communications and innovation," based on estimates by the Economic Policy Institute. AT&T has the only unionized telecom workers in the state, and so this would mean more solid, good-paying union jobs in West Virginia. We need them. Unions need them.
With Governor Tomblin signing a bill this week to give coal-producing counties a little more of the severance revenue they generate for the state. No doubt broadband will be part of the equation for these communities as they begin to prepare for the inevitable post-coal economy. We need business and political leaders who have the vision to do the same statewide.
West Virginia's politicians must educate themselves on the need for broadband expansion into all areas of the Mountain State. Like good schools and good roads, a good broadband infrastructure is necessary to attracting new industry. We cannot grow and compete without it.
Quiz the people running for office in your county and your community about broadband. Demand to know what Earl Ray Tomblin and Bill Maloney have to say about 4G LTE technology. Ask your Congressional leaders what they have been doing in Washington to help build broadband capacity in West Virginia. Let's make it an essential part of any public discussion about our future.
As credit rating firms put the federal government on notice about the dire consequences for failure to raise the national debt limit, West Virginia again finds itself getting very positive news about the State's fiscal health.
Fitch Ratings raised the State's debt rating due to West Virginia's "consistently positive financial operations, including the expansion of reserves, and an ongoing commitment to reducing long-term liabilities."
As the DailyMail pointed out in a recent editorial, this should not be lost on voters when considering the current Democratic leadership in WV. Governor Tomblin in particular, who served as Senate President during this fiscal turnaround, deserves great credit. These improved credit ratings mean that WV interest rates for big projects will be lower, ultimately saving taxpayers millions in bond issuances.
As quoted in the DailyMail editorial Governor Tomblin stated,
This is the third time, in three consecutive years, one of the rating agencies has recognized the hard work we have been implementing to get, and keep, West Virginia's financial house in order. With all three rating agencies making positive adjustments to West Virginia's portfolio in recent years, our taxpayers will save money as bond issuances to fund major projects will be financed at lower interest rates.
Folks, we are witnessing a great transition here in West Virginia. These steps are absolutely essential to our long term goals of diversifying our economy and attracting large employers. Voters should reward Tomblin's fiscal discipline in the coming gubernatorial election.
Here's why it's impossible to take Sen. Joe Manchin (Coal) and others seriously when he talks about cutting the deficit by cutting spending but not raising taxes.
the fact remains: the economic downturn, President Bush's tax cuts and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq explain virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years (see Figure 1).
The deficit for fiscal year 2009 - which began more than three months before President Obama's inauguration - was $1.4 trillion and, at 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the largest deficit relative to the economy since the end of World War II. At $1.3 trillion and nearly 9 percent of GDP, the deficit in 2010 was only slightly lower. If current policies remain in place, deficits will likely resemble those figures in 2011 and hover near $1 trillion a year for the next decade.
The events and policies that pushed deficits to these high levels in the near term were, for the most part, not of President Obama's making. If not for the Bush tax cuts, the deficit-financed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the effects of the worst recession since the Great Depression (including the cost of policymakers' actions to combat it), we would not be facing these huge deficits in the near term. By themselves, in fact, the Bush tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will account for almost half of the $20 trillion in debt that, under current policies, the nation will owe by 2019. The stimulus law and financial rescues will account for less than 10 percent of the debt at that time.
You're walking down the street, minding your own business when all of a sudden a well-dressed man in an expensive three-piece suit jumps out of an alley, whips a contract out of his pocket and yells "Give me all your money!" You're terrified of reading all the legalese and he's got a whole pack of lawyers and bankers and bought off government officials in his entourage, so you fork over all your cash and promise to make a monthly payment.
The well-dressed man in the three-piece suit starts to walk away and you think to yourself, "Hey, wait a minute! I just got robbed!" Angry, you storm after him, tap him on the shoulder and yell, "Hey, I just lost all my money!"
But this is when the well-dressed man in the three-piece suit shows his true criminal genius. "You're right!" he says, throwing you off guard. You hadn't expected him to agree with you and validate your anger. And he says it with such enthusiasm and charisma, and here is this very wealthy man who seems to identify with you on an emotional level. It feels good. "I can't believe all that you've lost! You've made sacrifices! You're down on your luck! That's not fair at all!"
Chris Hedges has posted quite a long article in Truthdig called This Time We're Taking The Whole Planet With Us. It is devastating... not because it makes up a fantasy of destruction, but because it deals directly with the truth. Here are 2 excerpts, but I urge you to go HERE and read it all... then tell your friends and even casual aquaintences to read it... then look at what is being done in Wisconsin and Ohio and Indiana and other places dominated by Tea Party attackers and decide to join the rest of us in doing something...anything...about it (I recommend listening to Michael Moore's speech from Saturday which I posted earlier this morning.
With their unwillingness to continue funding the federal government at current levels, the House GOP seems intent on shutting down the federal government.
There are many reasons why the cuts that House GOP passed are a bad idea. Broadly speaking, they cut government programs that help people most in need and give yet more breaks for those who have already have theirs.
Just as concerning, the budget the House GOP passed is bad for the economy. Here's an analysis from Goldman Sachs:
Spending cuts approved by House Republicans would act as a drag on the U.S. economy, according to a Wall Street analysis that put new pressure on the political debate in Washington. The report by the investment firm Goldman Sachs said the cuts would reduce the growth in gross domestic product by up to 2 percentage points this year, essentially cutting in half the nation's projected economic growth for 2011.
It's hard to pick just one thing, but I'd say the most dangerous trait of today's Tea Party-infused Republican Party is its complete and total disregard for reason and truth.
How is it that 2% of a population in a democratic nation can wage a successful class war against the other 98%? This should be something of a paradox. Why don't those 98% come together at election time and elect people who will defend their interests? The corporate raiders should get routed every time. It's just simple math.
One reason, of course, is that most Americans don't realize just how unequal things are and how stacked against them the deck really is. That's an information problem. But I think we also have a major imagination problem. Consider the case of Rich Hahan, a Wisconsite and former GM worker who was profiled in the New York Times a few days ago.
The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent in December. That was the worst monthly rate of 2010.
It's also the first time that West Virginia's rate was higher than the national rate since the Great Recession began.
West Virginia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate climbed three-tenths of a percentage point to 9.6 percent, while the national rate declined four-tenths of a percentage point to 9.4 percent, a report from Workforce West Virginia reported. The number of unemployed state residents rose 5,900 to 73,500. Total unemployment was up 6,400 over the year.
Nearly all counties recorded rising unemployment rates as well, the Workforce report said.
Second, the long-term financial picture for the state has some concerns, too.
A Wall Street bond rating agency, meanwhile, identified West Virginia as having one of the highest debt loads among states. Moody's Investor Service last week began ranking states for both their taxpayer supported debt and pension funding shortfalls.
West Virginia has been continually dealing with unfunded liabilities on the local and state levels. The State legislature has been trying to address other post-employment benefits (OPEB). Retired public employees, primarily educators, had been promised about $8 billion worth of benefits, such as health insurance, without a revenue stream to cover the cost.
[snip]
Delegate Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, said unfunded liabilities is one of the most significant issues facing the Legislature at this time. Carmichael serves on the House of Delegate's Finance Committee as the Minority Vice Chairman.
''It is the big white elephant in the room that no one is talking about,'' he said. ''The previous administration did nothing on this.''
A working group has been put together to come up with proposals to address the issue. A bill was expected to be submitted to the House this past week or could be introduced early this coming week based on what the group was able to work out.
''With $8 billion in debts, the state really has no surplus,'' Carmichael said.
The only energy source which is the greatest source that we have as far as what we’re dependent on right now is coal. It doesn't get a penny of subsidies.
Today West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Nick Casey praised the announcement that West Virginia will receive $334 million for clean-coal power development from the federal stimulus bill. U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, Governor Joe Manchin, and President Obama's Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that the AEP coal-fired power plant at New Haven in Mason County will get funding to expand its carbon capture and sequestration project.
"This announcement highlights responsible Democratic leadership on the state and national level to further develop West Virginia's economy," Casey said. "West Virginia is showing the nation and world that through research and technology, we can be part of the solution to the nation's energy and environmental debate."
The $334 million funding is a part of the $3.5 billion in the federal stimulus bill for clean-coal technology development. An additional $417 million for advanced clean coal research was appropriated in the federal budget over the next two years.
Rockefeller, Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Mike Morris, president and chief executive officer of American Electric Power and Gov. Joe Manchin conducted a telephone press conference with about 25 reporters to announce the funding for the expansion of a carbon capture and sequestration demonstration project at AEP's Mountaineer Power Plant near New Haven. AEP will match the federal funds granted through the Clean Coal Power Initiative and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
"Times have changed," Rockefeller said to the limited audience of reporters participating in a conference call. "We need to reduce our carbon emissions." He added that the investment "allows West Virginia to take control of its future."
[snip]
Manchin expressed his thanks for Rockefeller's leadership in bringing the investment to a West Virginia plant. Morris praised the announcement as being "a great day" for the utility, state and nation, because of the advancement of clean coal technology and the good-paying jobs on the horizon for people of the region.
After opening the teleconference to questions, Rockefeller and Manchin both spoke to the need to bring a measure of "comfort" to coal industry leaders and their financial backers. Rockefeller said that the thing he fears most is the present level of "uncertainty," especially in response to the cap and trade or climate change bill that was passed in the House of Representatives during the summer and is now awaiting action by the Senate.
The coal industry has been pocketing subsidies since 1932. Taxpayers for Common Sense has identified numerous tax breaks and subsidies over the years to the coal industry. Our Green Scissors report released last July identified over $19 billion in potential taxpayer savings if the following coal subsidies were eliminated.
Selected Coal Subsidies - Potential Savings 2011-2015 ($) - Loan Guarantees for Coal Power Generation with CCS and Industrial Gasification with CCS and Advanced Coal Gasification - $8,000,000,000
- Clean Air Coal Program - $2,500,000,000
- Clean Coal Power Initiative - $1,800,000,000
- FutureGen - $1,073,000,000
- Credit for Investment in Clean Coal Facilities - $1,000,000,000
- Carbon Sequestration Tax Credit - $927,000,000
- Domestic Manufacturing Deduction for Hard Minerals - $856,000,000
- World Bank Capital Increase - $854,000,000
- Expansion of Amortization for Certain Pollution Control Facilities - $835,000,000
- Air Quality Enhancement Program - $500,000,000
- Percentage Depletion Allowance - $409,000,000
- Capital Gains Treatment for Royalties from Coal - $237,000,000
- Expensing of Exploration and Development - $202,000,000
- Certain Income and Gains Relating to Industrial Source Carbon Dioxide Treated as Qualifying Income for Publicly Traded Partnerships - $11,000,000
- Electron Scrubbing Demonstration Project - $5,000,000
- Build America Bonds (BAB) - $9,891,000,000
- Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) - $400,000,000
- TOTAL (excluding ARPA-E or BAB) - $19,209,000,000
In 2008, Obama said Bush's tax cuts "offend my conscience." Please help the PCCC air this powerful new TV ad in Washington, DC and Indiana (where Obama made his conscience statement).
Can you chip in $3? Every $9,000 we raise allows the PCCC to air the ad another 50 times.
I'm 31 years old. I graduated from college magna cum laude. I have a Master's Degree in Religious Studies from the University of California. I have nearly ten years of leadership and education experience. The IQ test says I'm a genius. I'm a very good writer, a wonderful group discussion moderator, a creative problem solver, a talented actor and director, a clear and engaging presenter of information, an accomplished public speaker and an attentive listener.
Right now I am also "underemployed."
I had to move back in with my parents. I work 26 hours per week at a wage of $7.25 per hour. I have no health insurance. Student loans payments are scheduled to start in another few months. I have credit card debt from the two months I spent with ZERO income upon finishing graduate school and being reminded that unemployment benefits are not for people who work in education or for non-profits. I have just had to replace my printer's ink cartridge for the second time in the past four months due to the number of cover letters and resumes I send out on a weekly basis.
Personal vehicles and coal trucks just don't seem to get along.
Reported Jul. 23, 2010 10:38 PM EDT
A 19-year-old is dead after his car hit a coal truck. It happened on Wednesday just before noon in Fayette County on Route 61 in the Robson area near Beards Fork.
It doesn't seem to matter if you are a new and possibly inexperienced driver.
Sunday Aug. 29, 2010
CUMBERLAND - A 20-year-old Evarts man died from injuries sustained in a two-vehicle collision Saturday morning on U.S. 119 near Cumberland in Harlan County, Kentucky State Police said.
Even more mature drivers have problems.
Updated Saturday October 2, 2010; 12:59 PM
Kanawha Sheriff's Deputies are reconstructing the crash that claimed two lives in Kanawha county Friday afternoon. Sheriff's say the head on collision between a Coal truck and a pickup truck occurred just before 2 p.m. on Route 60 near Glasgow.
Wonder how this became a "head on collision". And how two survived.
I worked on Capitol Hill for a long time, and I do not consider myself naive about the inner workings of Washington. But even I was surprised by two revelations this week exposing the amount of money the oil industry is spending to buy political influence.
The first eye-opener came from recently released lobbying numbers. The OpenSecrets blog reported that the oil and gas industry poured $174 million into the political system in 2009. That's eight times more than the green groups.
What did the oil and gas industry get for its money? A handful of Senators who blocked all attempts by the Senate to pass a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill that would have made fossil fuel industries start cleaning up their global warming pollution.
This week's second revelation made that difference abundantly clear. Jane Mayer wrote an investigative piece in the New Yorker about the brothers David and Charles Koch who run Koch Industries -- the biggest corporation you've never heard of -- and who have spent more than $100 million on anti-government causes.
Koch Industries owns oil refineries and 4,000 miles of pipeline, and was named one of the top 10 air polluters in the nation in a 2010 UMass-Amherst report. The Kochs' political donations are often aimed at promoting their libertarian views, but they also directly benefit their own profit margins. They have donated millions of dollars to nonprofit groups that fight environmental regulation and seed doubt about climate science. In fact, a Greenpeace report called them a "kingpin of climate science denial." And though green groups tend to paint ExxonMobil as the worst of the worst when it comes to lobbying against climate legislation, Koch outspent even ExxonMobil.
One of David Koch's pet projects is the group Americans for Prosperity, a group he founded and funds but positions as a grassroots movement. An ad for one of its training sessions for Tea Party activists says, "The voices of average Americans are being drowned out by lobbyists and special interests. But you can do something about it."
But when Americans for Prosperity hosts at least 80 events protesting climate legislation, is it really acting in the interest of average Americans or the interest of oil industry donors?
When it funds an attack ad against Representative Betsey Markey from Colorado because she supported climate legislation last summer that would have brought 30,000 jobs to her state, who is it benefiting?
And when the group pledges to spend an additional $45 million before the midterm elections, is that money really coming from grassroots activists, or from deep corporate pockets? These fat cats pretend to fraternize with the ordinary folks who dangle tea bags from their tri-cornered hats, but, in fact, they are just using activists to put a populist face on their industry agenda.
Manipulating other people's fears about the economy when you are a billionaire -- I would call that the depth of cynicism. But considering those billionaires are getting in the way of climate solutions, clean energy and green jobs in America; I have to instead call it dangerous.
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