WV: Capehart outlines workers’ comp plan

The Herald Dispatch (Huntington, WV.) ^ | 1/22/04 | Staff Writer

[eyesixtyfour]

HUNTINGTON -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Capehart Wednesday outlined a plan for West Virginia

[lilylangtree]

WV needs more industry besides the overinflated state government centralized in Charleston. In December 2002 I read where the state government in Charleston was the only employer in the state to increase in workers. All other industries (few that they are) decreased--some significantly provided the companies are still business. Recently, I read where the state now wants to consolidate counties because of the low population.

[mountaineer]

State gubmint and Wal-Mart: the only employers hiring in W.Va., looks like!

[mountaineer]

the state needs to reform its archaic tax system and decentralize higher education to give universities such as Marshall greater opportunities to improve and grow

FYI, Gov. Hotlips dropped a big fat lie on West Virginians when he said he was cutting higher ed by only 2.5 percent. Turns out he's increasing $$ for WVU and MU, making the other state colleges pick up the slack, so they'll have to cut closer to 7 or 8 percent, on top of the 9 percent they had to cut last year. What kind of state will we have if our colleges literally are crumbling to the ground for lack of funds, while the education bureaucrats in Charleston (HEPC, Dept. of Education, RESA) just get fatter and fatter? Rob has the right approach to higher ed.

[Taliesan]

He is assuming that the workers WANT to return to work, and all they need is "retraining".

"Retraining" is one of those ghost concepts you can use anytime you need a solution but don't have a real one. it's like the infamous "waste, fraud, and abuse".

[Timesink]

Recently, I read where the state now wants to consolidate counties because of the low population.

This would actually be a smart move, IMHO. The way the federal government and many big companies operate, they only see localities through the prism of "Metropolitan Statistical Areas", and right now the Huntington and Charleston metro areas are seen as two separate small MSAs (and small = bad in most cases), when in reality the whole Cabell-Putnam-Kanawha corridor (and surrounding counties) has been one big metro area with a sizable population for years now. If we made this 21st-century reality official, it would make the entire area much more attractive to business.

Besides, any plan that would take away three governments and replace them with one is an automatic Good Thing in my book.

[Glenn]

the state needs to reform its archaic tax system

That's one way to put it.

[eyesixtyfour]

I think you are missing the point with your comments. There is not an option with this proposal. Either you go back to work or you get retraining. There is so much fraud in the system right now, that if you make these people take the option of going in for rehab or working a job that didn't pay them as much as they were working before-they will go back to work. Right now you have these people collecting a workers comp check and working jobs under-the-table. That is Capehart's point.

There are some really disabled people out there who have earned a workers comp disability award. They shouldn't be punished by those who are trying to cheat the system. The employers shouldn't be punished either.

You can see the full proposal on his website under Issues link. It is impressive.

[buckalfa]

Good point and Capehart is correct, but he needs to go a
step further: abolish the state's Bureau of Workers Comp
and let private insuror's handle the trade line like most
other state's do. You would achieve lower premium costs
for employers and reduce the cost of government. Better
business enviroment and less tax money needed, a win win
situation.