Local Voices
Letter to
the Editor - The
Change state's
business climate
I read with interest the Oct. 10 Parkersburg News
article about the loss of manufacturing jobs in the
A few days ago the "State
Business Tax Climate Index" released by the Washington D.C.-based Tax
Foundation listed
Wal-Mart is now
Douglas Reeder, Vienna
Letter to the Editor - The
Don't vote for McGraws
I have been wondering why any
right minded individual would vote for any of the McGraws.
I have recently come to the conclusion that in my opinion there are three
reasons for voting for a McGraw.
1. You are a trial lawyer and know that if you
ever publicly supported an opponent like Brent Benjamin you will never win any
case that has to go before the Supreme Court. Thus it is a simple matter of
income; if you can't win a case because of whom you support, who will bring a
case to you?
2. You may be ignorant of what the McGraws
represent; namely special privileges for those who are represented by the proper(?)
lawyers or who belong to the organizations that support the McGraws.
(Read that as unions and teachers' groups, who know that if their cases were
ever tried fairly they just might lose some of them) In case you didn't know,
Warren McGraw has not ruled in favor of an employer in a Worker's Comp case
since 1999 - that's over 400+ cases in a row. Now, the odds of that happening
would be the same as flipping a coin and getting heads 400 times in a row. In
case you are wondering, that would happen once in 2.58 times 10 to the 120th
power. For those of you not good at math, that would be like hitting the Powerball
Jackpot (1 in 121 million) EVERY Wednesday AND Saturday of EVERY week of EVERY
year for the next 23 years. Obviously Warren McGraw has left the concept of
fairness out of our courts and in turn has driven jobs out of our state.
Fortunately you can become informed and do what is right for all
3. Perhaps you are one who knows what the McGraws
represent and you agree with biased government because you are one receiving the
benefits while those who must depend on honest and fair treatment get dumped
upon. In this case you too are a scoundrel and part of the problem. Stay home on
Election Day, please.
Bob Jones, New
Letters
to the editor -The Herald-Dispatch,
Voting
booth is place to fix insurance woes
Much
has been said but little done about
As
a retiree from the insurance industry with more than 30 years experience in
sales, claims and as an analyst for the West Virginia Insurance Department, it
is my opinion that the state’s insurance problems can only be resolved in the
voting booth.
We
cannot expect changes as long as we continue to elect persons to our legislature
who benefit financially from our present flawed insurance laws.
Harry
Rutherford, Huntington
"Almost heaven,
Thanks to the brave surgeons of
Please consider Brent Benjamin on Nov. 2 and make
a difference.
V. Chokkavelu, St. Clairsville
Letter to the Editor - The Herald-Dispatch, Oct. 8, 2004
We must restore
fairness to the W.Va. Supreme Court
By KENNETH H. BUSZ - guest
columnist
Every person who wants to
attract or keep jobs in
No race is more critical to
Why is so much importance
being placed on this race?
First, the answer rests with
the lack of fairness and balance that has crept onto the high court thanks to
activist justices. Anti-job decisions handed down over the past few years are
reviewed by the people who make the decisions about business investments and
employment.
Our state now has a
reputation as an undesirable business location thanks to frivolous lawsuits and
anti-employer sentiments of the Warren McGraw court majority.
What’s the impact to date?
In the past few years, tens
of thousands of jobs have been lost in
The second reason why people
need to focus on our state’s anti-employer legal environment is that it is
costing small businesses money…and lots of it.
A recent national study shows
that tort litigation costs on small business are enormous. The report, prepared
by the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform, says businesses are paying a
high price because of litigation. Worse still, small businesses are bearing the
largest burden of these tort liability costs.
The report notes this impact
is being felt on small businesses of two sizes. For those companies with less
than $10 million in revenue a year, they are paying $150,000 a year to cover
these costs. As for truly small businesses, the average tort liability cost is
$17,000 a year.
These businesses bear 26
percent of the nation’s tort liability costs, but take only 8 percent of
business revenues. These figures don’t include the escalating cost for
liability insurance that is hitting across our state.
These ‘hidden tort taxes’
are monies that could be used to hire additional employees, increase production,
or improve health benefits for workers. These "hidden tort taxes"
impact us all in our daily lives by increasing the cost of everything we buy.
Our leaders pay homage to
small businesses as the backbone of our economy, yet little is being done in
We must correct this and
restore fairness and integrity to our judicial system before another worker
loses his or her job or another business closes its doors. We must restore the
West Virginia Supreme Court as a fair, independent body … not one that is
driven for political and personal reasons.
For the reasons stated above,
HuntPAC, the political action committee of the
Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce, has endorsed Brent Benjamin, a
Republican, for the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Kenneth H. Busz is
president and CEO of the
Letter to
the Editor - The
Benjamin needed
on Supreme Court
It is my opinion that one of the
most important positions to be filled in the upcoming election is the seat on
the state Supreme Court. Just as with their federal counterparts, the power this
state court wields can undo legislation, and through their decisions, actually
steer the direction of our state.
Many will agree they have indeed been steering
and it's in the wrong direction.
In that they are elected for
12-year terms, there won't be another judgeship opening for a few years. It is
imperative voters take this opportunity to make a change. With only five judges
ruling as the Supreme Court, the vote of one judge is very important.
I just viewed a television commercial of Warren
McGraw in which his opponent is accused of being funded by out-of-the-state
business. The ad allowed the assumption that candidate Brent Benjamin is for
business and against the working people; I do not believe that. Business is
backing Benjamin because in him they see hope that some of the ludicrous
decisions that have been handed down by the state's highest court may become
more fair. This funding may be from out-of-state business that have been forced
to leave the state and who would like to return.
It was the climate created by state courts that
recently forced DuPont into a multi-million dollar
settlement. While this huge payout may not actually close the Washington Works
facility, it will certainly have an affect on how much expansion or maintenance
dollars that the parent company chooses to put into the local facility, a plant
that has been tremendously important to
The DuPont ruling,
coupled with the poor business climate in West Virginia that has forced too many
of our manufactories to move elsewhere and new business to not even consider
moving into our state is reason that we should perhaps join with those people of
business who want to see Brent Benjamin on the state Supreme Court.
Bob Enoch, Parkersburg
There
are fundamental flaws in the political and economic structure in
One flaw is that the political leadership has such an
iron grip on the legislative machinery that no independent proposal can make its
way into the debate.
Until the voters elect officials who have the courage to
meet the core problems head-on, the state will not improve. Until the elected
officials take bold steps to make our state attractive to business, we will not
prosper.
The only way for this state to grow in population is to
provide good-paying jobs for additional workers. Only thriving businesses can
provide such jobs. Only additional workers can pay our bills.
To ensure that existing businesses remain and expand, and
to ensure that new businesses are not afraid to locate here, the people we elect
this year must take action to deal with the core problems that scare business
away. There are severe problems: a tax burden worse than anywhere else with
similar geography and natural resources; a threatening Workers' Compensation
burden worse than any nearby state; the threat of litigation, especially against
doctors and other professionals which is even worse than the terrible national
threat; problems such as a history of labor strife that eventually reduces the
profit margin to zero. A right-to-work law is desperately needed.
Making the state equally attractive as our neighboring
states may not be enough. Our reputation of hostility to business must be
overcome. And that may require, in the short run at least, that we go the extra
mile to get them here.
D.R. Baldwin, Athens
Letters
to the Editor
James Petry's
recent "tongue-in-cheek" opinion letter printed in this newspaper,
suggesting that
Mr. Petry raises good points
about how the lack of well-paying jobs and the rapidly rising liability costs
for homeowners and car owners are serious problems for the vast majority of
Most states either appoint state Supreme Court justices
or have them elected in nonpartisan elections. With these selection processes
the states' laws are not being administered by whomever
is able to rise to the top of party politics. Elsewhere, an ability to interpret
the law may actually exceed political handshaking skills.
Mississippi Supreme Court
Justice Chuck McCrae received the same score for his
out-of-control activism from the Judicial Evaluation Institute as Supreme Court
Justice Warren McGraw -- an amazing score of 8 out of 100. Of course, Justice
McRae was ousted by Mississippians who became tired of his lawmaking from the bench
...
What we really need to be focusing on in
It's important to the future of every West Virginian.
Robert D. Mauk, Chairman
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
of