Recent editorials from West Virginia newspapers:
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March 7
The Charleston Daily Mail on the end of the teachers’ strike:
Three cheers for Republicans in the Senate of West Virginia.
The bane of teachers and school service personnel unions for not cowing to demands of a boisterous crowd as the school workers strike persisted, those senators held their ground and protected the taxpayers of West Virginia, while also making the deal to end the statewide, nine-day, illegal teachers’ strike.
In years past, lawmakers would have caved to the demands of an unruly crowd by passing higher taxes. Giving special interests who made the most noise their way always came at a cost to the taxpayers of West Virginia.
But this time, a new generation of lawmakers, i.e., ones with a backbone, held fast and didn’t want to so easily cede more taxpayer money to the demands of the loudest group.
So senators agreed to a 5 percent raise for teachers and all state employees only after gaining the concession of no new taxes. Not only that, the senators smartly refused to go along with Gov. Jim Justice’s magical new 2018-2019 revenue estimate in which he pulled $58 million out of thin air to fund pay raises.
But these raises, requiring about $110 million per year from the state budget, will come at a cost. Gone are worthwhile plans to increase funding to the Tourism and Development offices. The free community college tuition bill that could have improved the workforce is dead.
It’s too early to say what all the other cuts will be, but “there is going to be some pain,” Sen. Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, said.
To minimize the pain, government simply needs to perform better.
As the Parkersburg News and Sentinel opined two weeks ago: “It takes only a cursory glance through the (state) budget to find waste, redundancy, and incredibly poor management of resources.”
West Virginia government must get its act together and do more with less, just as successful businesses must do regularly to survive.
Other states do better, too. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, West Virginia employs 218 people for every 10,000 residents, ranking it eighth in the nation in full-time employees. The national average is 136.
And among the areas with the biggest opportunity for savings is the state and county education bureaucracy. West Virginia spends more per pupil on education than 30 other states, yet ranks among the lowest in teacher pay and student achievement.
West Virginia should be paying its teachers, school service personnel and essential employees a competitive wage. But essential is the key word. State government is rife with positions that still exist only because no one has had the political will to restructure and downsize.
With fewer employees being more efficient, there will be much more money in the budget to pay essential workers competitively. Fortunately for state taxpayers, the Republican leaders in the Senate recognized that, and settled the strike without setting taxpayers back.
Online: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/
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March 3
The Journal of Martinsburg defends free speech following a West Virginia coal executive’s failed lawsuit against HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”:
In a world of constant social media input, opinions - positive and negative - are not hard to come by. In fact, a critique lurks around nearly every corner in both the real and digital worlds.
Expressing commentary and criticism has become its own genre of media as well, with several TV shows and web series dedicated to commenting on people, politics and world events. Recently one of those shows, HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” had to deal with some consequences of such criticism in the real world. A segment of an episode last season was comically critical of coal company Murray Energy, taking specific aim at CEO Robert Murray.
Murray has filed several lawsuits over the years against journalists and other members of the media, alleging defamation and potential harm to his company. “Last Week Tonight” was just the most recent among other targets such as The New York Times and The Charleston Gazette-Mail. Last week, a West Virginia judge threw out the lawsuit, recognizing the defense’s First Amendment motion to dismiss.
This was a victory for freedom of speech and press - two of the staples of our American democracy. Whether one is an Oliver fan, friend of coal or on any other side doesn’t matter. The beauty of our Constitution is it protects our right to express opinions, report facts and publicly agree or disagree.
Oliver’s segment was an example of critical and satirical commentary, which used factual and public information as comedic fodder. The definition of defamation is communicating false statements about a person that injure the reputation of that person. It is important not to conflate criticism with defamation or lies, and it is happening at an alarming rate.
While Oliver’s show is for comedy, a similar trend has happened with news media as well. All too often, politicians and public figures dismiss factual reporting or critical commentary as “fake news,” sometimes threatening legal action and pushing “fake news” of their own.
The First Amendment protects their rights to respond and rebut or give context to criticism and allegations. Trying to censor and suppress such information, though, is a violation of free speech and can contribute to the unraveling of the American democracy.
While we may not like to hear criticism about ourselves and those we support, especially on a large scale, it is important to remember that it is vital to our society. We should pay attention and fact-check the media we consume in order to differentiate “fake news” from a standpoint with which we don’t agree.
Functions of the media - entertainment and informational - include presenting facts, explanations and holding public officials and agencies accountable. Criticism comes with those functions and while it may sting, it is not a crime. Lawsuits alleging defamation and libel in response to genuine criticism are irresponsible and anti-democratic - no matter who is filing them. We need to keep this in mind as we consume media and express ourselves in person and online. Freedom of speech doesn’t go away just because we don’t agree or like the outcome.
Online: http://www.journal-news.net/
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March 7
The Inter-Mountain on the fate of the United Mine Workers union pension fund:
Imagine everyone who lives in Wheeling suddenly being told their incomes are being cut off. Imagine them being old enough that they had few prospects of replacing that loss.
Now you have some idea of the disaster facing families throughout our state and in other coal mining regions.
Slightly more than 27,000 people live in Wheeling, according to the Census Bureau. That happens to be the number of retired West Virginians who rely on pensions from their former employers in the mining industry.
They and about 60,000 people in other states are facing imminent disaster because the United Mine Workers union pension fund is on the brink of bankruptcy. Without intervention from some source, it will be only a matter of time until the program has to stop sending checks to retirees.
Unfortunately, the situation is much more complex than merely an issue of whether to assist retired miners. Several other union pension funds also are nearing insolvency. Helping the miners while doing nothing for those other retirees would be both wrong and politically difficult.
Fortunately, there is bipartisan agreement in Congress that something needs to be done. To that end, a Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multi-Employer Pension Plans has been established to craft a federal government approach to the problem.
Among the panel’s 16 members are Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia; Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
Committee members face a daunting task. An idea of its magnitude can be gained by considering that the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which normally steps in to rescue insolvent retirement systems, could be wrecked itself if called upon to help with funding for the imperiled programs. Hundreds of thousands of retirees ranging from teamsters to ironworkers are involved.
A formula for helping them simply must be found and adopted. Too many people, including the 27,000 retired miners in West Virginia, will have no hope if the committee does not find a way out for them.
Online: http://www.theintermountain.com/
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