Create a Crisis Politics

Unemployment in West Virginia is at an all time low. Employers are now paying in to the unemployment compensation fund enormous amounts of money. If you combine the incremental money’s being paid into the system with the fact that low unemployment rates are resulting in fewer claims, one would have to wonder why it would be necessary to raise taxes on small businesses for this purpose.

That is exactly what is being bantered around Charleston as the legislature heads into session. It seems that some think it is necessary to increase that tax burden on businesses by as much as 50%. I am sure they will find a way to spin this to make us believe there is a crisis at hand that needs immediate action. This could be accomplished in much the same manner as when the then reported $3.5 billion dollar Workers Compensation unfunded liability was used to raise taxes on the extractive industries last year. This year, they want to change the law that created that tax burden because by the miracles of accounting, they have now discovered that the $3.5 billion unfunded liability was actually less than $1 billion and perhaps as little as $750 million. They are not proposing to lower the tax burden as you would think, but are attempting to relax the law as to how the money raised from this tax can be used. This should be appalling to West Virginians.

Now it appears this deplorable tactic was so successful, that there will be efforts to accomplish similar results with other created crisis’. The unemployment compensation fund may be the next created crisis.