Coal Baron Jim Justice Vetoes Modest Solar Bill
Nothing shows how desperately West Virginia needs a change than Jim Justice’s veto of HB 5528. Coal fuels 92% of West Virginia’s electric generation, while renewable solar energy is responsible for less than 2%. HB 5528 would have made a modest increase in the amount of solar allowed under West Virginia law. But, according to Justice, the veto was necessary to protect coal. Seriously?
Panhandle Legislators Lead West Virginia’s “Bad Idea Machine”
Delegate Mike Pushkin, who represents Charleston’s East End in the House of Delegates, once quipped that the West Virginia Legislature is a “bad idea machine.” Our Eastern Panhandle delegation contains some of the leaders, if that is the proper term, in generating bad ideas. I have recently written that Sen. Patricia Rucker has sponsored a host of bills that advance her far right ideology and religious beliefs. Most notably, these include her sponsorship of Senate Joint Resolution 12 that would put on the November 2018 ballot a proposed amendment to the West Virginia Constitution declaring that nothing in that Constitution creates a right to abortion. Not to be outdone, her Panhandle colleagues in the House of Delegates have introduced pro-gun and anti-public school legislation that give Sen. Rucker a run for her money.
Sen. Patricia Rucker: Leader of West Virginia’s Far Right Fringe
In the 2016 West Virginia Senate election, voters in Jefferson and Berkeley elected Patricia P. Rucker over Stephen Skinner by a margin of 2,773 votes – 6.5% of the votes cast. Rucker is a stay-at-home mom from Harpers Ferry who home schools her five children. Voters in this area are usually moderate, and fringe views on either side of the political spectrum don’t attract much support. But by her activity in the Senate and the attention she has received from national far right political groups, it is clear that Sen. Rucker is no ordinary West Virginian. Instead she has proven herself to be a leader in libertarian fringe politics to a degree that would shock most of the unsuspecting people who voted for her.
Blaming The Victim: West Virginia’s Flirtation With Medicaid Work Requirements
It was my intention when launching this blog to support economic policies in West Virginia that actually spread prosperity to all citizens. The wealthy don’t seem to need help ensuring they get a big plate full at the prosperity table. It is the less fortunate who need help. But in this long Republican winter, avoiding policies that hurt the less fortunate is really a full time job. The most recent example is West Virginia's flirtation with work requirements for Medicaid.
West Virginia’s New Voter ID Law and the Myth of Voter Fraud
Effective on January 1, 2018, West Virginia law now requires a prospective voter to present a valid identifying document to a poll clerk. The clerk will then verify that the name on the document conforms to the individual’s voter registration record. If the identifying document has a photograph, the poll clerk will determine that the photograph is “truly an image of the person presenting the document.” This new law is similar to voter ID laws passed by state legislatures around the country at the urging of Republicans. But voter impersonation fraud – the only possible fraud affected by the new law -- is virtually non-existent in the United States and no cases have been identified in West Virginia.
The Rich Benefit Bigly From Trump’s Tax Reform
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has added mightily to the already serious income and wealth inequality in America. Yet our state's Republican representatives in Congress seem oblivious that most people in this state are poor relative to the rest of the country. They have boasted about what amounts to the crumbs on the table that middle and lower income West Virginians gain from this Act. For example, Rep. Alex Mooney, who represents much of the Panhandle in Congress, announced that he voted for "tax cuts for all West Virginians." Always obsequious when it comes to the White House, Mooney said "President Donald Trump has been a true leader on delivering tax relief for all Americans and I am looking forward to continuing to work with him to create more jobs and to keep our economy growing." There is no other way to put it -- this emphasis on the illusory benefits enjoyed by the broad middle of our society is just willfully deceptive. The true winners under the TCJA are the rich, who will benefit at the expense of the rest of us.
Government by the Rich, for the Rich
The much maligned Tax Reform and Jobs Act (TJRA) is regarded by most Americans as a naked effort by the Republican Party to reward its key donors, among them the wealthiest of Americans. Public polling has consistently been negative for this “reform” legislation. The law's modest temporary tax relief for the middle class is just window dressing. The public has simply disregarded this window dressing and correctly assessed the stink from what has been served up to them. This statute ought to be one of the first things on the agenda of any new Democratic majority in Congress to reverse.