Commentary

This spring as schools in West Virginia were completing their school year I had a sudden realization that members of the Class of 2022 were newborns when I graduated high school. Talk about a punch to the gut and a stark reality check that time truly flies! That prompted me, however, to dust off my John Marshall High School yearbook and look through some memories from nearly two decades ago.

Knowing how your elected representatives vote is a key to a successful democracy. We elect individuals to represent us at multiple levels of government and entrust them to closely study the issues and make informed decisions. In turn, it is our responsibility to evaluate their actions to determine whether or not they deserve to be re-elected. That is the main reason the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce adopted its Legislative Scorecard nearly a decade ago.

Thoughts of change, growth, and new opportunities accompany the start of any year. But 2020 in particular has special significance for a number of reasons. One of those is the fact that our nation’s decennial census will occur, a potentially crucial, constitutionally required event that will have implications for the business community and beyond.

As a beautiful snow blanketed much of West Virginia last week, I was reviewing the many blessings of life in the Mountain State. The beauty of the snow was a reminder that we live in a wondrous place. We are surrounded by the embrace of nature. Our communities are made up of good, caring people. I have the privilege of traveling throughout our state. Everywhere I go, I meet people who deeply love West Virginia and its people.

Reporters dug into the details of Gov. Jim Justice’s announcement on Monday that the “number of West Virginians who have jobs is now the highest it’s been in more than a decade.” Justice claimed that 19,000 more people were working in the state than a year ago. Joining Justice in the feel-good event was Steve Roberts, president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, on whose board I serve.

West Virginia is seeing some notable growth in employment and workforce participation. The state Chamber of Commerce, citing state figures from Workforce West Virginia, said the state has added 19,000 jobs from October 2018 to October 2019. Specifically, 763,000 West Virginians were working last month compared with 744,000 the same month of the previous year.

West Virginia is on an economic upswing that has bought much-needed good news for our state and its citizens. From August 2018 through August 2019, West Virginia added over 16,000 jobs to its total employment. Unemployment continued to drop, and the size of the state’s workforce continues to expand. To put things in perspective, West Virginia is at its highest levels of employment since 2008.

In a global economy, trade is king and often the centerpiece of international disagreements between nations. Because strength is often tied to a nation’s ability to export goods, trade agreements can either bond countries together or act as the catalyst for war.

West Virginia received some great news this week when the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released data that showed West Virginia led the nation in personal income growth for the first quarter of this year.