OPINION: The Economy Isn’t the Boulder – West Virginians Are
By Paula Kaufman
West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw recently wrote an op-ed titled “The Economy Is the Boulder.” He borrowed a metaphor from an excavation contractor: business is built on “boulders, rocks, and pebbles.” Hanshaw argues the economy is the boulder—the foundation of everything—and that healthcare, education, and families will benefit later through trickle-down effects.
He writes, “Creating a vibrant and thriving economy is the first step necessary for conservatives committed to advancing a conservative agenda and furthering conservative principles.”
Here’s the problem: the economy is not the boulder. People are. And the West Virginia Legislature would do well to remember this.
Some argue prosperity is simple: create jobs, cut taxes, and shrink social programs. It sounds easy. History proves it wrong.
If jobs alone created prosperity, West Virginians would have thrived during our coal-mining heyday. They didn’t. Miners couldn’t own homes or land. They were treated like indentured servants, often paid in scrip—company money redeemable only at the company store. Families were trapped in debt. Life, liberty and happiness came far after profit. When jobs come first, budgets are put before human lives.
Exploitation did not end because industries felt generous. It ended only because the United Mine Workers fought for cash wages and federal laws like the National Industrial Recovery Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act enforced standards. Without those protections, some of us might still be paid in toy money.
That’s what happens when jobs come before people. When profit is valued over miners’ lungs. When billionaires are justified because money will “trickle down.”
Hanshaw also notes that conservatives want fewer social welfare programs. Here’s the danger: reducing programs widens the gap between rich and poor. Working-class families struggle for basic needs while wealth concentrates at the top. Extreme inequality erodes social cohesion, limits upward mobility, and fuels political division. Social programs aren’t charity. They’re economic infrastructure.
Families with healthcare, education, and childcare can work, innovate, and contribute productively. Cutting support may save money short-term. Long-term? It weakens the future workforce and reduces economic growth. We see this today.
Some argue that jobs reduce social problems like substance abuse. Jobs are important—but they don’t cure addiction. People can only work when they have someone to watch their child when they go to work, when there is transportation to get there. A paycheck alone is limited. One illness, car repair, or rent increase can wipe out wages. Work is necessary, but not sufficient. Life needs a safety net: treatment programs, affordable healthcare, housing, and education.
Jobs are tools; people are the builders. A hammer only matters if a carpenter wields it. Work depends on the worker, not the other way around. Put people first. Everything else will follow.
Paula Kaufman teaches, paints and writes in Randolph County.
