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Virginia just attracted Amazon while West Virginia is struggling just to survive. Virginia has been wildly successful and West Virginia is a failed state. WV has beautiful scenery, but the experiment of West Virginia statehood has been an abject failure. Time to admit reality.
I would not call the two principle reason for West Virginia being a state to be either an experiment or a failure.
Western Virginians took exception to taxation without equal representation when it was part of Virginia. That is the same principle that United States is founded upon.
Western Virginians, like all of the north had a different idea about owning slaves than did their eastern Virginia counterparts. Virginians thought it was not perfectly acceptable but financially, socially and religious required to own black people. All of the peoples of the south felt this way.
Emancipation through the years that followed until the Civil Rights Act lends testament to this movement not being an 'experiment'. The United States thrives as the beacon of freedom and leader and democracy, hardly a failed experiment.
It is not surprising someone from Virginia would hold such views; it seems for some, no ideas have changed since before the American Civil War.
I would not call the two principle reason for West Virginia being a state to be either an experiment or a failure.
Western Virginians took exception to taxation without equal representation when it was part of Virginia. That is the same principle that United States is founded upon.
Western Virginians, like all of the north had a different idea about owning slaves than did their eastern Virginia counterparts. Virginians thought it was not perfectly acceptable but financially, socially and religious required to own black people. All of the peoples of the south felt this way.
Emancipation through the years that followed until the Civil Rights Act lends testament to this movement not being an 'experiment'. The United States thrives as the beacon of freedom and leader and democracy, hardly a failed experiment.
It is not surprising someone from Virginia would hold such views; it seems for some, no ideas have changed since before the American Civil War.
In an objective look at the formation of the state of West Virginia, slavery was not the driving issue. You can find a lot of eye opening information on Bobilee's "Other History" page. Look at the Contact tab on his profile page: https://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...ee-162038.html
Slavery existed in West Virginia. It existed mostly in the counties more southern and western from an area from Parkersburg to Lewisburg and everywhere south and west of a line between those two locations.
Businessmen in the northern part of the state, primarily in Wheeling, Clarksburg, and Morgantown, thought their business interests were better served by removing themselves from Virginia and banking their fortunes on the northern states. The federal government was happy to go along with the plan because the railroad that they needed went through the eastern panhandle on the way to the Ohio River at Wheeling.
Virginia just attracted Amazon while West Virginia is struggling just to survive. Virginia has been wildly successful and West Virginia is a failed state. WV has beautiful scenery, but the experiment of West Virginia statehood has been an abject failure. Time to admit reality.
West Virginia already has a major Amazon facility. Amazon is a major employer in Huntington.
In the main, however, there is much truth to what you say.
Last edited by robertbrianbush; 03-19-2019 at 07:41 PM..
West Virginia already has a major Amazon facility. Amazon is a major employer in Huntington.
In the main, however, there is much truth to what you say.
Would that be a call center? I don't think WV will get to be a big shipping hub again as anything shipping in and out is slightly more expensive as it has to go over limited mountain highways, the river or by air. I used to make crafts that went all over the world and the post office always added an extra day for WV.
Expanding the number of call centers works when there is high unemployment, lots of underemployed semi educated people (By that they mean 1 to 2 years of college but not necessarily degree), and a flat accent understood all over the country, but they do favor the west due to time zones and evening pay.
But the right company call center could work well for WV, I worked a multi catalog call center in a yuppy Pac West town and when we got a contract for the overnight shift on a army surplus catalog based in Texas I was the only one who could do it, not really because of the little I knew about guns, I just read the catalog. The people that called in would prefer a good ol boy with colorful rural vocabulary and i had no problem selling up to 20k rounds of .223 ammunition a day, ChiCom AK47 parts and palettes of MRE. And my reward for excellence was I got to be one of the first in the US to ever try Picante Beef Top Ramen
Last edited by Wyvern-Quill; 03-19-2019 at 11:32 PM..
Someone mentioned urbanization and all of the little towns. I've noticed since I've been up here that there are far more towns here that are basically hamlets than there are in other states, even fairly rural parts of rural states like the Mississippi Delta. If everyone is split up into little penny-packets of 400, 500, or *maybe* 1,000 or 2,000 people, resources are going to be split up. Especially since it seems like the state government tries to do way too much to make places that are so tiny viable. Like, in Louisiana, we had a few regional offices for the state police. Here, it seems like they have dozens of little offices. That's an incredibly inefficient way to do things. Eventually, people are going to have to accept that the future is in cities and large towns.
We have far to many counties for a state this size 55. 20-30 would be a great amount to have and it would get rid of many state offices that aren't necessary in every little town. They could save so much money by just consolidating the counties but that will never happen. There are 12 counties with under 10,000 population and 12 more under 20,000. Most these counties are losing population and merging counties together would be a great idea. The problem with mostly small cities and towns here is most are controlled by a few people that try to limit growth which is beyond me. There are very few towns here with any vision and most have a small footprint as far as area and it's almost impossible in this state to annex land into a city with the laws in place. Cities like Charleston,Huntington and Morganton are all becoming landlocked with no where to grow. The small towns on the outskirts refuse to be annexed which could save money for everyone. I understand some people's reservations in being consolidated because in many cases the larger town or city is poorly run and many services in the larger town are more expensive with little to show for it.The laws in this state for most development don't exist either and their is little zoning in place which means you can have a junk yard right next to a beautiful home. Most people here fight anything new or any rules or laws that would actually protect them and make their area prosper. Most cities push new businesses outside of town thus losing the tax benefits of having them inside the city. Even nicer business parks,shopping centers or housing developments built have few rules and many aren't made to put in the proper infrastructure to begin with.
We have far to many counties for a state this size 55. 20-30 would be a great amount to have and it would get rid of many state offices that aren't necessary in every little town. They could save so much money by just consolidating the counties but that will never happen. There are 12 counties with under 10,000 population and 12 more under 20,000. Most these counties are losing population and merging counties together would be a great idea. The problem with mostly small cities and towns here is most are controlled by a few people that try to limit growth which is beyond me. There are very few towns here with any vision and most have a small footprint as far as area and it's almost impossible in this state to annex land into a city with the laws in place. Cities like Charleston,Huntington and Morganton are all becoming landlocked with no where to grow. The small towns on the outskirts refuse to be annexed which could save money for everyone. I understand some people's reservations in being consolidated because in many cases the larger town or city is poorly run and many services in the larger town are more expensive with little to show for it.The laws in this state for most development don't exist either and their is little zoning in place which means you can have a junk yard right next to a beautiful home. Most people here fight anything new or any rules or laws that would actually protect them and make their area prosper. Most cities push new businesses outside of town thus losing the tax benefits of having them inside the city. Even nicer business parks,shopping centers or housing developments built have few rules and many aren't made to put in the proper infrastructure to begin with.
I agree we have too many counties in this state. Some of what you are saying in the bolded part I agree with but bear in mind why people move to WV in the first place. Most move or retire here to get away from the "big city" life.
Still, many would appreciate common sense zoning that would protect their standard of living. I can only speak for Mon County (which desperately needs it) and have observed the lack of zoning falls squarely on the county commission. Not the residents. The Commission could call for a public hearing ASAP and devise a reasonable plan everyone can agree on.
When asked why they don't move forward with a countywide zoning plan they always have the same answer; "Well, we tried in the past and the developers came out against it". (Well...duh ) Plus, that was in the late 1990's! All we ended up with is a few planning districts that can't do much.
Here is an article supporting what I am saying. This is about some controversy that developed when a concrete plant planned to move next to a residential neighborhood. Note the bolded quote which affirms a resident's reasoning for moving here too. I talk to people all the time who say similar things. Also interesting is the county commission trying to blame the state when the "zoning" answer is right there in their face. They keep ignoring they have the power to do that right now.
Along with am increase in traffic, many said this shouldn't belong in a residential area. Others worry about pollution. "I moved out here to start a market garden. I'm growing organic vegetables and I'm trying to do everything organically and cleanly with no herbicides. To think that a pollution generating facility is going to be that close is not what I had in mind when we moved out here," said Joni Costante, Monongalia County resident.
Commissioner's reply: The DOH notified the county commission about the plan. However, the commission said the concrete company is following the rules and there is little they can do.
"They followed all of the requirements. They are meeting all of the rules and regulations, so as a county commission there's nothing we really can do. There's no zoning over there. So the only thing we have requested is with the MMPO to rebuild the road and build it more along the lines of an interstate and make it stronger. Unfortunately, the legislature has to come up with some solutions and they are not. This is another one of those unfunded mandates that the county can't afford to do anything and we are not allowed to fix roads, so we are in a bind," said Tom Bloom, Monongalia County Commissioner.
Any astute reader can figure out from just this one article why we are in the mess we are in with no help in sight. Probably applies to many, many other counties too. Even progressive Mon County is like the "wild west". I can't blame people for not wanting to move to this state. I have many days when I regret coming back.
We have far to many counties for a state this size 55. 20-30 would be a great amount to have and it would get rid of many state offices that aren't necessary in every little town. They could save so much money by just consolidating the counties but that will never happen. There are 12 counties with under 10,000 population and 12 more under 20,000. Most these counties are losing population and merging counties together would be a great idea. The problem with mostly small cities and towns here is most are controlled by a few people that try to limit growth which is beyond me. There are very few towns here with any vision and most have a small footprint as far as area and it's almost impossible in this state to annex land into a city with the laws in place. Cities like Charleston,Huntington and Morganton are all becoming landlocked with no where to grow. The small towns on the outskirts refuse to be annexed which could save money for everyone. I understand some people's reservations in being consolidated because in many cases the larger town or city is poorly run and many services in the larger town are more expensive with little to show for it.The laws in this state for most development don't exist either and their is little zoning in place which means you can have a junk yard right next to a beautiful home. Most people here fight anything new or any rules or laws that would actually protect them and make their area prosper. Most cities push new businesses outside of town thus losing the tax benefits of having them inside the city. Even nicer business parks,shopping centers or housing developments built have few rules and many aren't made to put in the proper infrastructure to begin with.
For a state our size, both in terms of population and geography, we should have around 15 to 17 total counties. For example, Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, and Wetzel should combine into one, just like Morgan, Berkely and Jefferson should be one county as well. Fayette, Raleigh, Summers and Mercer could be one, along with Kanawha, Putnam, Cabell and Mason forming another.
For a state our size, both in terms of population and geography, we should have around 15 to 17 total counties. For example, Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, and Wetzel should combine into one, just like Morgan, Berkely and Jefferson should be one county as well. Fayette, Raleigh, Summers and Mercer could be one, along with Kanawha, Putnam, Cabell and Mason forming another.
One thing to consider if you consolidate counties is the distance people now live from the county seat, and the relative lack of infrastructure and poverty in WV. I mean, imagine living in Paw Paw and being called to serve jury duty in Martinsburg over an hour away in perfect weather conditions.
That county would be massive, the geography difficult, services would be hard to deliver to all citizens. I do think government consolidation is a good step to consider, but you also have to keep in mind that this move would also cut lots of solid government jobs in places where the economy is bad, and likely make these people worse off they are now.
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) Plus, that was in the late 1990's! All we ended up with is a few planning districts that can't do much. 
