Unleashing Capitalism in The Mountain State: Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia’s first book creates a buzz

The West Virginia State Journal wrote, "This is likely to be the most important book of the next five years." The Journal, a top business publication, was referring to the first research product of the Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia, the 256-page Unleashing Capitalism: Why Prosperity Stops at the West Virginia Border and How to Fix It.

Founded in December 2006, the Foundation published Unleashing Capitalism in April 2007. The proposals offered for promoting prosperity have been embraced by the business community and some policymakers.

In a TV interview, Governor Joe Manchin said he agrees with the book's premise, West Virginia residents and its economy are too reliant on government. Manchin noted, "If [your] child is 40 years of age and still living at home and says, 'hey mom and dad, you didn't give me my allowance this week,' you really haven't provided an atmosphere for a productive human being."

The book's editor, Dr. Russel Sobel, has spoken before the West Virginia Business and Industry Council, West Virginia Manufacturers Association and West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Annual Convention. Since its publication, Sobel has presented the book's findings to more than 40 organizations. Since its publication, the book has sold more than 3,500 copies.

Why such interest? West Virginia's economy is a national under-achiever. Consider this:

• the government sector controls 52 percent of all spending in the state;
• West Virginia ranks 50th in the Economic Freedom of North America index;
• the state ranks 47th in the Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate Index; and
• the American Tort Reform Foundation's 2005 annual survey called our state a "Judicial Hellhole."

This environment propelled the Foundation's formation. Robin Capehart, J.D., current director of the Foundation's Center for Government Policy, led the effort. Capehart, president of West Liberty State College in Wheeling, formerly served as the state's Secretary of Tax and Revenue and was a 2006 Fulbright Scholarship recipient.

The Foundation's intellectual base was recently bolstered with two additional distinguished fellows. Dr. Calvin Kent is vice president for the Center for Business and Economic Research at Marshall University. He is the only twice-elected president of the National Association of Economic Educators. Kent has written 18 books and more than 150 articles.

Dr. Michael J. Hicks is director of the Bureau of Business Research and associate professor of economics at Ball State University. He has written two books and more than 60 scholarly works on state and local public policy, with an emphasis on tax and expenditure, environmental regulation and energy issues.

The Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia has started work on its second major report, highlighting the benefits of privatization. The Foundation's experiences to date have seasoned it for continued success.

# # #

Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia

Jim Shaffer, Executive Director

P.O. Box 1118

Morgantown, WV 26507

(304) 282-8249

http://www.westvirginiapolicy.org/

jshaffer@comcast.net