This news story originally provided by The Daily Mail

December 27, 2005

Manchin's metaphor under scrutiny

George Hohmann

Environmentalist Vivian Stockman says that when Gov. Joe Manchin says West Virginia is open for business, she worries his concerns focus too much on the bottom line.

"I fear he's thinking of the old-style rape-and-pillage form of business," she said.

Manchin's penchant for comparing state government to business also worries Norm Steenstra, executive director of the West Virginia Citizen Action Group. But a lot of what Manchin says seems valid to House Speaker Bob Kiss and Kenny Perdue, president of the West Virginia AFL-CIO.

Stockman, project coordinator for the Huntington-based Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, said, "I'm concerned when a governor equates running a state with running a business because we all know a business is supposedly about the bottom line -- that is, money. A government is supposed to be about people.

"When the governor is getting huge sums of money from the coal industry, for instance, when he's making decisions is he thinking about the people or is he thinking about the coal industry?"

"People are realizing that a clean environment, jobs and a future are all interrelated," Stockman said. Manchin's desire to bring a coal liquefaction plant to West Virginia "lacks vision and, perhaps, reason," she said.

"I'm concerned that -- setting aside mountaintop removal and global warming and just looking at coal conversion -- does it take more energy to convert coal to liquid than the amount of energy produced?"

"There's a new school of economics called ‘ecological economics' that I'm afraid the governor is not acquainted with. That's where the services a clean environment provides are given monetary value."

For example, intact forests provide flood control, soil erosion control, microclimate control, water purification and, when managed sustainability, long-term jobs, Stockman said.

"These things have huge value to an economy. Those values have been hidden in traditional economics because industries have been allowed to externalize, or pass on, their costs to society in general."

Steenstra said, "Everybody wants economic development in West Virginia. God knows nobody has given more to the American dream and got less back than West Virginia."

Manchin doesn't define what's "open," Steenstra said.

"I'm not sure West Virginia's task is to be in partnership with businesses as much as it is to take a holistic approach," he said. "I think his job is to run the state of West Virginia to everybody's benefit, not just the business sector -- although that's a vital part of the picture.

"We've got people on Medicare and Medicaid and we've got an education system to run," Steenstra said. "We've got highways to maintain, security. I think he should be in partnership with everybody, not just the business sector that fuels revenue.

"I really like this guy, although I usually don't agree with him," Steenstra said. "He doesn't talk about what types of jobs we want. Do we want Wal-Mart jobs, phone solicitors, manufacturers? Costco pays its workers more than Sam's Club and sells the same stuff. We don't have one Costco in the state. Why not go after that one? It's about jobs with dignity.

Steenstra said he's also concerned that when there's talk about opening up to business, "there's always pressure to relax permitting issues or expedite siting issues. "The process is there for a reason -- to examine and regulate it," he said. "It's like fine-tuning a radio dial -- not too much, not too little. If you say you want quick permits, that sounds good for the company but it may not be right for the people."

Regarding Manchin's push for a coal conversion project, Steenstra said, "One thing I hammer is, let's do this one right. We can do it with technology that is much cleaner than what they use in South Africa or North Dakota. It needs to be done with a commitment to do it right."

Kiss said that like everything else in life generally and certainly in politics, Manchin's equation of government to business is a simplification.

"There's a lot of truth to it, too," Kiss said.

The Raleigh County Democrat said politicians can get into problems if they don't realize that while there are many lessons that can be learned and transferred from business, there are differences. For example, "businesses don't consistently run unfunded retirement plans," he said. "Government should be more like business in that regard."

There are differences in the way a corporation's board of directors may run a corporation indirectly and the veto power the Legislature has, he said.

Also, the desires of state residents are not as grand as the desires of stockholders who ultimately only respect profit, Kiss said.

"There's much more of a need to be a consensus leader in government," he said. "I think a new governor or legislator can get in a lot of trouble if they don't realize that."

Kiss believes Manchin hits on a truth when he compares government's relationship to business as a partnership.

"Whether they like it or not, with our system the way it is, business needs to recognize that, in a unique way, federal, state and local governments are partners," Kiss said. "There are certain things governments want from businesses. Ultimately, the fact you're taking a percentage of their income from them and then use those monies in a way that either allows the economy to work better or not work better -- you can't ignore the fact that affects your bottom line.

"Government indirectly becomes a determinant force in the success or failure of business," Kiss said. "Any business that ignores that does so at its own risk."

Perdue, the labor leader, said he appreciates the fact that Manchin talks about state employees and teachers being stakeholders.

"They are what I believe is the best resource the state has," Perdue said. "In the end I think that resource should be utilized to run a smooth government because they've been there for years, they've seen the up times and bad times. When this ‘company' works well, the employees and teachers should be applauded and rewarded for their dedication to ‘West Virginia Inc.'"

Perdue said it is inevitable there will be conflicts between state government and its employees, such as whether employees should pay 20 percent of total Public Employee Insurance Agency premiums and what should be done about sick days.

"We'll be crossing swords on these issues," he said. "I hope we can reach mutual agreements to resolve these issues."

Contact writer George Hohmann at 348-4836.