Listen to “Washington Tells Moore ‘No.’ We Should Believe It” on Spreaker.
West Virginia is familiar with the country doctor — the one with a warm bedside manner, a reassuring smile, and a genuine investment in the patient. There is much value in that. But sometimes comfort becomes a liability.
What we need now isn’t another country doctor.
We need a surgeon.
A surgeon may seem cold by comparison. Brutally honest. Direct. Perhaps even bordering on cruel. But surgeons aren’t hired to make patients feel better. They’re hired to make them better.
Congressman Riley Moore joined Talkline Friday. He recently secured federal funding for water and sewer projects in his district, and he deserves credit for that work. He also sought $50 million to address longstanding infrastructure problems in southern West Virginia.
Washington’s response was no. Moore expressed his displeasure in that.
The hard truth is that southern West Virginia’s water problems — and many of its other challenges — will not be solved by the federal government.
Congress may throw us a bone from time to time, but bones do not create sustainable economies. That’s the real challenge.
Counties like McDowell, Mingo, and several of their neighbors have some of the worst economic metrics in America. Geography plays a role. Limited access plays a role. The decline of the coal economy certainly plays a role. Whatever the causes, the result is the same: economic realities that no federal appropriation can permanently fix.
Even if Congress wanted to solve the problem, the money would treat the symptoms, not the disease.
Whether intentionally or not, Congress sent a message when it rejected Moore’s request:
West Virginia, this problem is yours to solve.
Fine. Then can the state solve it?
Perhaps some of it. Certainly not all of it.
Most West Virginians already subsidize utility service in rural areas, whether they realize it or not. Customers often share the same rate base despite vastly different costs to provide service in sparsely populated regions. That’s not criticism. It’s simply reality.
A texter on Friday made a comparison to eastern Kentucky. In many respects, eastern Kentucky faces economic challenges similar to — and in some cases greater than — those in southern West Virginia. Yet, the roads in places like Pikeville, Hazard, Whitesburg and the like areas – not entirely free of problems – are noticeably better. Drive them and you’ll agree.
Why?
Kentucky has a larger, more diversified economy and a larger population capable of supporting those investments.
West Virginia does not. At least not today.
If the state can only do so much, and if economic revitalization efforts will take years — perhaps decades — to generate meaningful results, then we’re left with something many people would rather avoid:
Difficult decisions.
Perhaps impossibly difficult decisions.
That’s why it’s time to call the surgeon.
Better to confront reality now, make tough choices, and endure a painful path toward healing than continue relying on comforting words and good intentions.
Governor Morrisey, legislative leaders, local officials, and community stakeholders should begin a serious, visible, and collaborative conversation about the future of southern West Virginia. Not next year. Not after the next federal grant opportunity.
Now.
And whatever solution emerges must be rooted in a self-sustaining future for every county involved. Relying indefinitely on the success of one region to compensate for the shortcomings of another is not a long-term strategy. It is a temporary arrangement that becomes more fragile with time.
Point blank, the longer we avoid the diagnosis, the harder the treatment becomes.
Washington’s answer may not have been the one southern West Virginia wanted to hear. But it may be exactly the one it needed.
Sometimes the first step toward recovery is finally accepting the diagnosis.
Editor’s Note: previous commentaries on this and like issues here and here.