1. S
EOUL — On one of my first morn-
ings in South Korea, I woke early
and scanned my email from back
home. The subject of one caught my
eye: Look out the window.
The rest of the message — sent
tongue-in-cheek by
the city editor here
at the Gazette-Mail
— said people
wanted to know
which way the mis-
siles were flying.
I Googled, and
. . . yep, sure
enough, the North
Koreans had test-
fired a few ballistic
missiles about an
hour before I got up.
I walked to the window of my hotel
room and looked out across the end-
less high-rises of Seoul. The rising sun
glinted off the glass boxes and down
below, the morning traffic was already
backing up at the stoplights.
I yawned, made a cup of coffee and
headed for the shower — just like
millions of others in this metropolis,
barely 35 miles from the North Kore-
an border.
The people of South Korea don’t let
Kim get under their skin.
They don’t sit around wringing their
hands over their estranged brothers
and sisters to the north.
My weeklong reporting fellowship
in South Korea, made possible by the
East-West Center in Honolulu, gave
me a chance to learn about this mi-
raculous country, born out of war and
dueling ideologies.
My education into South Koreans’
feelings about the North began while
sitting across the table from Myung-
woo Noh, professor of sociology at
Ajou University.
I listened as he ticked off a list of
South Koreans’ top worries: 1. Hous-
ing; 2. Education; 3. Retirement.
My colleagues on this trip — from
The Washington Post, CNN, NBC in
Seattle, the Los Angeles Times and
the Florida Times-Union — and I were
all thinking the same thing, so I piped
up: “Where does North Korea rank
on that list?”
The Koreans in the room let out a
laugh, even before the translator did
her thing.
“This is the biggest difference be-
tween the Korean people and the
foreigners,” Noh said with a grin, as
the translator delivered his words.
“The Korean people do not worry
as much about the North Korean
threat as you might think, because
North Korea has just always been
there. It’s just a constant factor in
their lives.”
He explained that the Korean War
generation still feels nostalgic toward
the north. “They think of it as their
lost hometown and the lost land that
we have to reclaim someday.”
But the younger generation . . .
“They think of themselves as just an
audience of some ridiculous thing that’s
going on,” Noh said. “Inheritance of
North Korea low on list
of South Koreans’ worries
Editorials, 2Perspective
DAugust 14, 2016
SUNDAY
GAZETTE-MAIL
wvgazettemail.com
STATEHOUSE
BEAT
PHIL KABLER
By Jim Lees
Anyone paying attention to
politics cannot escape the non-
stop media coverage of the
Trump-Clinton-Johnson Presi-
dential election coming up in
November. (Yes, I include Gov.
Johnson of the Libertarian Party
because I do believe he will be
a factor in this election.)
The problem, however, is that
here in West Virginia few people
are paying attention to our up-
coming election where we will
elect a new governor. And given
that West Virginia is teetering
on the edge of a financial cliff
which, if not properly ad-
dressed, will literally change the
quality of life for West Virginia
citizens for years to come (and
not for the good), I thought I
would take a moment to point
out what I believe are fairly
obvious observations.
With the severe downturn in
the coal industry, we do not
have the tax revenue stream to
continue to provide the govern-
ment services that we have be-
come accustomed to over many
decades.
Our two major party candi-
dates for governor, Justice and
Cole, seem determined to bring
the coal industry back from the
downturn and make it thrive
once more in an effort to fix this
problem.
While such enthusiasm is
admirable, the reality is that
restoring tax revenues from coal
to their previous levels is virtu-
ally impossible for a wide vari-
ety of reasons, and I am fearful
that West Virginians are once
again pinning their hopes on
unrealistic campaign promises
in lieu of demanding concrete
proposals and solutions from
candidates that realistically ad-
dress the problem.
Cole has attached himself at
the hip to Donald Trump, while
Justice will not even speak the
name of Hillary Clinton.
Again, realistically, it appears
likely that Clinton will be our
next president (no offense in-
tended to the 70 percent of West
Virginians who apparently sup-
port Trump). I know anything is
possible, but if Clinton does in-
deed win, it does not appear
either Justice or Cole is well-po-
sitioned to receive any future
favors from President Clinton.
And given Clinton’s previous
statements on coal, it does not
appear there will be any major
shift in government policy on coal
under a Clinton administration.
So here is my simple question:
If coal does not come back, and
if Clinton does become president,
what is the economic plan for
West Virginia proposed by these
candidates that will make up the
severe loss of tax revenue?
Where do we get the tax revenue
in the absence of coal to operate
West Virginia for the next 20
years?
Permit me to make a few sug-
gestions that I first proposed back
in 1996 and again in 2000 when
I sought the office of governor.
And let’s begin with a very Re-
publican idea: That government
does not create jobs, but people
do. In order for people to create
jobs, government can and should
help people understand how to
create jobs, and West Virginia
fails miserably in helping its citi-
zens create jobs.
Basic economics teaches us
that jobs are created when busi-
nesses are created. There was a
time in California for example
when neither Microsoft nor Apple
existed. However these business-
es were created, jobs subsequent-
ly flowed from the creation of
these businesses, and the econo-
my of California improved.
That is how economics works,
but the dirty little secret is that
people first need to understand
the nuts and bolts of creating a
business. And here we have a
problem.
Enter therefore an important
role of government: Teach our
best and brightest in our public
schools entrepreneurship, and
in particular the nuts and bolts
of creating a business plan to
use to attract capital to fund the
start-up of a business.
What we
can do to
raise job
creators
ROB BYERS
ROB BYERS | Gazette-Mail photos
The people of the bustling city of Seoul have their share of worries, but North Korea does not cause a lot of hand-wringing.
SEOUL — Like many South Koreans
— and Americans, for that matter —
In-Ho Kim is a little perplexed by the
U.S. presidential election.
Particularly when it comes to free
trade — and specifically when it
comes to the U.S.-Korea Free Trade
Agreement, which just marked its
fourth anniversary.
Kim’s focus is understandable. He’s
a former senior presidential secretary
for economic affairs and is now the
chairman of the Korea International
Trade Association.
His association represents 70,000
Korean companies that do business
with other countries, often the U.S.
So, when Hillary Clinton sours on
free trade agreements and Donald
Trump calls out the U.S.-Korea FTA
by name, Kim and his member com-
panies take notice.
The real head-scratcher for Kim and
all those companies is that the U.S. was
the one that pushed for the U.S.-Korean
agreement in the first place.
But now that the U.S. is running a
trade deficit with South Korea, U.S.
politicians are suddenly vilifying the
agreement as a job killer.
During campaign stops — particu-
larly in Rust Belt cities — Trump has
dumped on the agreement, ranting
that he can’t find a television set made
in America anymore.
Free trade agreements reduce the
fees and barriers associated with im-
ports and exports. This increases the
flow of goods and services and brings
prices down. Think TVs and cell-
phones.
But if we’re buying our TVs and
phones from another country, we’re
not making them here, which can
eliminate manufacturing jobs. So, the
argument usually comes down to
cheap goods versus factory jobs.
Sitting in the association offices
high atop the World Trade Center
Seoul, the expansive windows offering
up the endless city running into the
distance, Kim expressed his admira-
tion for the U.S. and its economy, but
said he hoped his message would be
delivered.
“I believe the U.S. shouldn’t judge
the agreement based on political is-
sues,” he said.
Kim acknowledged the trade im-
balance in the exchange of goods
(the U.S. imported $71.8 billion in
Korean goods in 2015, but exported
only $43.5 billion in goods to the
country).
But he was quick to point out that
when it comes to services (for in-
stance, legal, architectural, financial,
etc.), the U.S. exported more to South
Korea than it purchased ($20.5 billion
from the U.S.; $11.1 billion from
South Korea).
The U.S. economy is growing, albe-
it slowly, which can fuel Americans’
capacity for buying big-ticket items.
Meanwhile, the once-red hot South
Korean economy is slowing, which
Officials wary of US candidates’ trade attitudes
SEE Worries, 4D
SEE Jobs, 4D
SEE Trade, 4D
By its own bylaws, the
West Virginia Municipal
League is a “statewide,
nonprofit, bipartisan associa-
tion of cities, towns and villag-
es,” but some Democrats are
complaining it’s not as biparti-
san as it should be.
One matter is that, since the
league started leasing out the
conference room at its head-
quarters at 2020 Kanawha Bou-
levard E. — practically adjacent
to the Capitol complex — for
campaign fundraisers beginning
this spring, it has been used al-
most exclusively by Republicans.
That includes fundraisers for
Sens. Mitch Carmichael and
Craig Blair and senatorial candi-
date Ryan Weld, not to mention
a fundraiser for Senate Presi-
dent Bill Cole on May 11 in
which Municipal League Execu-
tive Director Lisa Dooley and
administrative assistant Beth
McCoy each gave $1,000.
(Delegate Eric Householder,
R-Berkeley, had scheduled a
fundraiser at the league head-
quarters in May, but moved it to
avoid union protesters who had
gathered outside.)
Dooley conceded that only
one Democrat has rented out
the league’s conference room,
Delegate Patsy Trecost, D-Harri-
son, for a fundraiser for his
ill-fated primary run for secre-
tary of state.
The latest affront came earlier
this month at the league’s annu-
al conference at the Stonewall
Jackson Resort when Cole was
a guest speaker, while Jim Jus-
tice was not invited — in his in-
troduction of Cole, former sena-
tor and Wheeling mayor Andy
McKenzie reportedly made
some snarky comments about
Justice’s absence.
Justice, in turn, sent a letter to
state mayors last week, stating,
“I write to you today because I
was not afforded the opportunity
to speak with you at your recent
conference. I would have loved
to met with you and discuss our
shared goals for a better West
Virginia. Unfortunately, as you
know sometimes in elections,
people play political games to
try and score cheap points by
only inviting one side to speak,
for example.”
In response, Dooley said the
league traditionally does not in-
vite candidates to speak at the
conference, adding, “Our policy
has always been if a candidate
calls, we’ll work them in.”
She said that unlike the state
Chamber of Commerce or Busi-
ness and Industry Council, the
league does not make political
endorsements.
“As far as political games, I
don’t play them. I work with
who ever they send up there,”
she said, referring to the Capitol.
As for rentals of the headquar-
ters’ conference room for fund-
raisers, she said it is simply coin-
cidental that a plurality of candi-
dates have been Republican.
“Just because the Marriott
rents out a conference room, it
doesn’t mean the Marriott en-
dorses that candidate,” she com-
mented.
n n n
Found it interesting how
quickly legislative leadership de-
nounced comments from Reve-
nue Secretary Bob Kiss and
Deputy Secretary Mark
Muchow concluding that the on-
going budget impasse in June
had contributed to a 23 percent
plunge in sales tax collections
for the month, as legislators’ in-
ability to pass a balanced budget
had a chilling effect on consum-
er spending.
Legislative leaders, including
Cole and Carmichael, dismissed
the statements as partisan poli-
tics, insisting that flooding was
the real contributor to the down-
turn in consumer activity.
Yes, the flooding was a fac-
tor. According to Military Af-
fairs and Public Safety, the best
ballpark estimate is that the
June 23 flooding affected
25,300 residents. It destroyed
Nonprofit
takes flak
for rentals
SEE Kabler, 4D