National media outlets have finally begun to pick up on what the federal government is doing to the Mountain State. In fact, the Wall Street Journal recently published a blog with the first sentence, "Poor West Virginia," in which it explained to its national audience that we are the only state in the country to have lost a statistically significant number of jobs during the past year.
Between July 2014 and July 2015, West Virginia lost 19,100 jobs, according to the U.S. Labor Department. That is a 2.5 percent decline in employment. In fact, to further quote the Wall Street Journal item, "The coal industry has experienced high-profile layoffs over the past year. ... Jobs in construction and manufacturing have fallen by 23 percent and 16 percent, respectively, since the recession."
But here was the kicker, the blog said:?"West Virginia's growing natural gas industry initially cushioned the fall in coal prices," but now jobs in that sector are also suffering.
Almost as though to ensure the tactics that have already created reduced natural gas prices and a loss of jobs continue to do their work, the Environmental Protection Agency last week announced it planned to add to its attack through a plan to set harsher standards for methane emissions. It also will "clarify" permitting requirements.
As Sen. Shelley Capito, R-W.Va., put it, "These new methane mandates threaten to impede natural gas development and job growth in the Mountain State."
Forget about growth. The Wall Street Journal explained to its readers that West Virginia's 7.5 percent unemployment rate is now more than 2 percentage points higher than the national rate of 5.3 percent, mainly as a result of the federal assault on jobs.
Others have started to understand what is causing the damage to West Virginia's job market and economy. Our state's representatives and their allies in Washington, D.C. had better take advantage of this brief window of reason.