What Would You Wish For?
We’ve all shopped online, so we are all familiar with what many web sites call a Wish List. It’s where we save the items we plan to purchase at a later date. We’d love to have that fancy barbecue grill or cutting-edge appliance but we can’t afford it right now. So, we save it to our wish list. Each of our wish lists differ with our various personalities and interests, and like items in a grocery cart, they reflect who we truly are.
What’s on your wish list for West Virginia?
Would you wish for better access to quality health care closer to home? Sure, you would. Would you like more educational opportunities for your kids, or better prospects for a job here at home after they graduate? Would you like to take a drive without navigating potholes or slips? Or that those relatives that have left home in search of decent wages could return? How about faster internet service so our kids aren’t left behind and our businesses can compete in the world marketplace? Of course, we’d all like to see our wishes for our state fulfilled.
When I was a kid, Mom used to say, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” I never quite understood that phrase. She also said, “Beggars can’t be choosers.” We are proud citizens of a proud state – not beggars. We have every reason to expect that our wishes will be honored by those we’ve entrusted to guide our state. Unfortunately, our leaders have chosen to think of us as beggars.
The Consequences of Repealing Prevailing Wage Law in West Virginia
In 2016, the West Virginia Legislature repealed our Prevailing Wage Law. A law that has helped other states realize their full potential and turned dreams into reality. Repeal of Prevailing Wage law has been a disaster. Thousands of our best and brightest have left our hometowns and cities to find good-paying jobs elsewhere. Opportunities have disappeared and wages have dropped for those who chose to stay. Our roads are crumbling, our water systems are failing, hospitals are closing and our kids face a bleak future. All this for the sake of promised tax savings that have never materialized.
However, there is hope. States that have adopted Prevailing Wage Law are prospering and West Virginian’s are watching, waiting and wishing for the restoration of prevailing wage in the mountain state. People are talking and asking questions. They know this law is a game changer. By restoring the Prevailing Wage we could be among those states with an enviable economy, one that retains its best and brightest and provides a standard of living worthy of its citizens. Those are wishes we all share.
Find your West Virginia representatives here and reach out to them to let them know you would like them to reinstate the Prevailing Wage Law.
You can help restore the Prevailing Wage Law by signing the petition. Sign your name, share with your friends, and let’s restore the Prevailing Wage Law to help keep our young people here and move West Virginia forward.