A King for the People

by Alex King I submit, for the peoples' ire and amusement, my unabashed take on Governor Jim Justice's Ascend, WV program. In case you haven't heard, that program will use our tax dollars to pay remote workers from other states to relocate here. By offering $12,000 dollars distributed over a period of two years, the goal is to get those who already work from home in other states to instead call West Virginia home. That's $12,000 dollars per relocated family unit, I assume, and those bribes will add up quickly. This action is very similar to Justice's vaccine lottery, in which countless amounts of our freshly printed tax dollars were spent bribing people to take a medical procedure they may not have otherwise taken. Millions were spent on prizes and incentives, all while many West Virginians were just beginning to feel the harmful financial burdens caused by shutdowns across the country and world. To underline the clear contempt Comrade Justice has for those who already live here, the transplants he's baiting to our neck of the woods already have jobs. It's not as if they'll be inquiring about all the HELP WANTED signs we're beginning to see in storefront windows. While I see the need to do something about the decline of population in West Virginia, I find it thoroughly laughable that we are not addressing the core problem of why people are leaving the state in the first place. So rather than pumping our tax dollars into a silly little program like Ascend, WV-a bureaucratic gimmick that could arguably become a sly tactic for gerrymandering-perhaps we should explore some better ideas for the wellbeing of West Virginians. There are many ways in which our state could invest that funding to improve the lives of the people already here. In fact, using that funding to revitalize our smaller communities would in turn accomplish the same goals of keeping people here while drawing new people to the state. It would not be difficult to distribute those tax dollars back to county and municipal governments for several necessary infrastructure projects that may increase the appeal of living in West Virginia. Perhaps he could also invest that money in a lucrative way, then use the proceeds to offset and lower our tax rates. Justice, however, has chosen to back a lazy and unethical strategy… one that merely conflates the population of our state, as if the number of people living here is the only determination of success. The sheer political abuse behind Ascend, WV should be called immediately into question by both branches of our legislature, and by officials at many levels, regardless of party affiliation. They should ask themselves for whom those newest West Virginia residents coaxed into living here will be most likely to vote. That's assuming there is a combined enough set among West Virginia officials to stand up against Boss Hogg's most recent abuses. The approach of our theatrically simple governor is to throw monetary incentives at an upper echelon that likely has the means already to build or buy homes in several potential states. He is all the while disregarding the little communities occupied by the working class that generated those tax incentives in the first place. If Justice feels it is so awful living in West Virginia that he must bribe people to call our state home, then why does he not use the funding allocated to Ascend, WV to fix the problems driving people out of our state in the first place? Oh, here's another idea…instead of offering out-of-staters money to move here, he could just ask them to do it for his ugly dog. That argument seemed to work with the vaccine. Then again, I am asking for accountability from a state government that recently approved tens of millions in funding for "woke" private colleges. And from what I've read, some college officials had the nerve to express how upset they were with how little funding they received this go-around. Meanwhile, I'm still scratching my head as to why we finance those indoctrination centers at all. Can the state return our tax dollars to local governments to deal with decaying buildings and rundown neighborhoods? Sure it can. Can the state allocate more of that funding toward necessary economic infrastructure rather than making us bear the brunt through continuously increasing fees? Sure it can. Can it spend that funding to make it appear effective while secretly benefiting the friends and family members of those in state? Sure it can. 1: Justice could seek to distribute funding to county commissions, who can then divide that funding among small towns for the purpose of buying and destroying unsalvageable structures. I'm not normally one who believes that governments should make it a priority to be in the real estate game. However, if handled correctly by local officials, there will be a multitude of benefits. Properties can be cleared and then sold to break even and maybe even make a profit for the municipality. Those who purchase the properties from the towns and build there will likely pay a building permit fee, funds which can be allocated to further community cleanup efforts. Nicer communities without visible decay around every corner will ultimately keep people here and attract new residents as well. 2: Justice could push for stronger protections against eminent domain. Neither the government, nor a corporation operating under government authority, should have the ability to decide at which price they can seize a tax-paying citizen's private property. There must be mutual consent and a financial agreement on both sides. (Whether or not tax delinquency is itself a form of eminent domain is a debate in which I would be happy to entertain.) Having stronger property rights may draw freedom-loving citizens and industries to the state of West Virginia. 3: Justice could advocate for the West Virginia Ethics Commission (WVEC) to place a larger focus on investigating corruption in our smaller community governments. As it stands, if a citizen believes a government official or employee has violated the West Virginia Ethics Code, he or she may submit a complaint with the commission regarding that official's actions. If that state agency decides after an investigation that an official has violated the code, the official may be required to step down and pay a fine, along with other potential stipulations. That all sounds aboveboard. Except… it's not. The WVEC will only release its findings about an ethics complaint if they determine that the public official is guilty. Why is that a bad thing? That's because it should not be up to the West Virginia Ethics Commission to be the sole arbiter in deciding what behavior is acceptable to our local communities. All findings, whether determined "ethical" or "unethical" by the agency's board, should be permitted to any members of the public who ask. While the enforcement of state law is necessary, it should ultimately be up to the voters of a local community to assess the findings of that agency and make their own determinations at the ballot box. We're paying for the salaries of that state agency's employees, after all, so should we not be entitled to review the work they have done? This suggestion may sound arbitrary, but I personally know of people who have moved as the result of government corruption that is never handled. They did not want to live in fear that government officials would utilize their authority to grind axes with them. Countless others remain in yet are afraid to speak up at risk of being targeted. It's a problem, one that could be better solved with the type of transparency I'm suggesting. 4: Justice could stop his carrot-and-stick strategy of showering us with gifts one day and then threatening us with mandates the next. More people than he suspects see through it. Sadly, most Republicans in West Virginia who admire Governors Noem (SD) and DeSantis (FL) for their bravery against tyranny are afraid to call out our utmost state despot for his blatant shilling for Big Pharma and WVU Hospitals. Seriously, it's gotten creepy. How many of his residents did those pharmaceutical companies already murder through the highly profitable opioid epidemic? How many WVU doctors likely acted as kickback accomplices by overprescribing those medicines in the first place? And despite all of that, our governor is telling us that we should utterly trust those profiteers of tragedy and inject ourselves with their latest concoctions. Or maybe he thinks we should forget reason altogether and simply take the jab in the name of his ugly little dog. 4: Justice can legalize it, already. Considering the amount of THC and hemp-derived alternatives flying off the shelves at our local gas stations, a few things have become clear. Firstly, the populous of the area is not upset enough by the sale of such items to ban their sales; secondly, there are likely a lot more closet smokers in West Virginia than anyone would have previously anticipated. When our so-called vice president admits to toking it up even though she previously facilitated many, many imprisonments on marijuana charges, we should all begin to question the eerie prohibition that has gone on for too long. I have a feeling we would see a gracious uptick in population. Oh, here's another idea. He can tell people to move here for his ugly dog. That argument seems to work on some people.