The governor boasts about this, of course.
But an earnest Gov. Jim Justice boast has the credibility of a breathless Fox News post.
Last week, Justice and others once more sang the praises of West Virginia’s economic growth.
A report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (in the U.S. Department of Commerce) claims West Virginia led the nation with a 5.6 percent personal income growth rate during 2019’s first quarter.
According to the report, total personal income in the state grew 1.4% in that period (an annualized rate of 5.6%), ranking us No. 1 among states.
Justice expressed his excitement in a news release that had some break out in a chorus of “Happy Days are Here Again.”
“How much more proof do we need that our days of being dead 50th are long gone? To be the top state in the entire country for personal income growth — truly think about that, No. 1 in the country — it’s absolutely phenomenal.”
He probably forgot that in the previous quarter, personal income growth grew by a mere 0.5%, with the Mountain State coming in at No. 46.
Though far be it from us to pretend we’re economists, anyone that is should tell you that personal income growth can yo-yo. Matter of fact, our state’s personal income growth in the past eight quarters has ranked in the top 10 for growth four times, and in the bottom 10 four times.
In other words, one quarter’s worth of data does not prove anything, unless you’re the state’s one-man answer to the economy.
We’re not scoffing at these recent growth figures. Yet, to cherry-pick them to portray a resurgent economy based on coal production, pipeline construction and the resulting jobs is misleading.
We have insisted for nearly 20 years the key to a resurgence of our economy is its diversification. The energy industry is known for many things, but one thing it owns is volatility.
No question, volatility can lead to explosive growth (sorry, we could not resist), but it can also spark ruinous declines.
These growth numbers and others tell a lot more stories than simply they are up or down.
Coal jobs are never going to rebound to the days of widespread black lung, orange streams and mining tragedies caused by rampant safety violations.
A concerted effort to diversify our state’s economy by increasingly turning to small business creation and light manufacturing initiatives is the future.
No one expects modesty from this administration about positive numbers as 2020 nears
But it may want to hold off for a few years out before declaring the days of us being 50th are long gone.
