By West Virginia State Treasurer Larry Pack
Traveling across West Virginia teaches you something quickly: no two regions are alike. From the Northern Panhandle to the Southern Coalfields, and from the Ohio Valley to the Eastern Panhandle, each area boasts its own distinct beauty and culture. While we all share the unifying principles of those who settled Appalachia hundreds of years ago, each region faces its own unique challenges. Addressing these issues today falls to county, city, and local leaders – those who are most connected to their communities and best positioned to meet their needs. Yet, a significant obstacle remains in their path: a strong, centralized government.
As we continue to feed an ever-growing bureaucracy, what we need more than ever is a return to true federalism as envisioned by our Founding Fathers. Because the State Capitol imposes a heavy, top-down, “one-size-fits-all” approach, it stifles local leaders’ ability to rapidly respond and make crucial decisions. Worse yet, we seem to be favoring excluding these leaders from the decision-making process altogether, which leaves many of our communities without a voice. Local leaders must not only be part of the conversation, but we must also empower them to lead from the front and make decisions for the communities they know best.
There are many reasons why we should shift our attention from central planning to supporting local leaders. Those leaders understand their community’s unique geography, economy, and culture because they live and work alongside the people they represent every day – no one is better positioned to serve their citizenry. Yet, government bureaucrats would rather impose unfunded mandates or blanket policies that simply don’t fit. These one-size-fits-all solutions box in local leaders, stifle innovation, and ignore the distinct needs of each community.
Once we handcuff innovation, we end up focusing more of our time on “procedures” and “regulations’ which leads to decreased flexibility and hindered response times. Slow responses and increased inefficiencies create bottlenecks that end up frustrating our constituents. This frustration leads to distrust and to the acceptance of the status quo, as citizens abandon civic participation altogether. Worst of all, we justify systems over results, which only solidifies the bureaucratic state. This fails the very principles on which our country was founded. Instead, we should prioritize “speed to build” and pro-growth thinking that continues to put the state on a trajectory towards prosperity.
To revitalize our economy and communities, meaningful local input is essential. We must work collaboratively with local leaders and actively engage citizens. Placing these groups at the forefront of decision-making can accelerate economic development and ensure outcomes that truly serve our communities. Transparency is equally important, with details on subsidies, tax incentives, and regional goals accessible and open to public scrutiny. While technology allows for rapid information sharing, it can also spread misinformation just as quickly. Federal, state, and local leaders must therefore work together to ensure that the public fully understands the impact of any policy or project initiated by the state.
As we look to embrace new industries in pursuit of economic growth, reduce government mandates on our people, and accelerate our efforts to improve our communities, policymakers should consider the structure by which we pursue these endeavors. Development and policies should proceed with communities, not imposed upon them. Lawmakers must focus on pro-growth policies that foster a stronger economy that is complementary, not contradictory to our West Virginia values. Local control ensures that decisions are made by the people who are impacted. Let’s bring all the parties to the table and work for a better West Virginia.