By Katie Dunn
BIG STONE GAP — Compromise is a word rarely uttered by politicians these days, but it is one that U.S. Sen. Mark Warner believes will solve the nation’s economic woes.
Finding that middle ground will likely be a struggle, though, since Democrats and Republicans have entrenched themselves in a tug-of-war involving almost every issue.
Still, the former Virginia governor told the more than 90 students, faculty and community members who gathered Wednesday at Mountain Empire Community College that he is optimistic. The brief stop was one of several appearances Warner made this week during a tour of Southwest Virginia.
He spent about an hour in Big Stone Gap, speaking predominantly about how to jump-start the nation’s economy and tackle its increasing debt. He also spent a few minutes discussing the future of coal in Southwest Virginia.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Much remains to be done to bolster the nation’s job market, but Warner believes it is improving.
During the last few years as many as 750,000 Americans were losing their jobs each month, he said, but now some of those jobs, about 75,000 a month, are being added back.
Continuing this growth, he explained, is dependent upon several factors.
He said Americans must realize that vying for jobs in today’s economy is no longer a local competition, but a global one. One way to ensure Americans remain competitive is to continue investing in education, from preschool to college. Part of this, he said, involves making monetary investments, but it also means finding ways to reduce the cost of higher education. He said career and technical paths, not just four-year degrees, need to be stressed as viable options.
Warner, who worked as a telecommunications venture capitalist before his political career, mentioned that in the past 20 years, 80 percent of all new jobs created in America have come from start-up businesses.
He said new federal legislation, the Jobs Act, will help create more jobs by allowing companies to go public and use the Internet to raise capital to start a business.
Broadband access is also key to job creation. He said one of his proudest moments as governor was when CGI-AMS Inc., an information technology company, announced in 2005 that it was locating a software development and systems integration facility in Russell County, creating 300 jobs. Warner said it was for two reasons the company chose Southwest Virginia: the people and broadband access.
Warner noted that 19 million Americans still do not have broadband access, but if an amendment he worked into the Senate’s 2012 Farm Bill is approved by the House, then more financial means will be available to bring that access to rural areas.
Warner also mentioned the need to reform the corporate tax code and offer companies that create jobs in the U.S. incentives to stay here. It doesn’t make sense that tax breaks are given to companies who create jobs overseas, he said.
DEBT
While the economy might be seeing some improvement, Warner said the U.S. debt is worsening. The country is currently $16 trillion in debt, and every day that a solution is not found, this figure increases by more than $4 billion.
He mentioned the bipartisan group that he leads, the “Gang of Six,” which includes three Democrats and three Republicans trying to garner support for a plan that calls for the nation’s debt to be reduced by $4 trillion over 10 years.
Warner noted that both sides need to work together to solve this.
“If there was ever a time when we need to chuck our Democrat hats and chuck our Republican hats, it’s right now on this issue,” he said.
Both sides are to blame for the country’s debt, he contends, and it is everyone’s problem. He suggested that perhaps all Americans should chip in, just as was done with war bonds.
In an interview following his speech, Warner said he supports President Barack Obama’s reelection bid, but regardless of who is elected in November, the country’s debt and deficit need to be remedied. He admitted that Southwest Virginia will be a tough place for Obama to win, but statewide, he believes it will be a close race.
COAL
Warner had time to answer a few audience members’ questions, including one about the coal industry from Jack Kennedy, Wise County and Norton circuit court clerk. Kennedy asked Warner three energy-related questions, including what he thought about the future of coal in Southwest Virginia.
Warner said he believes coal production needs to be a part of the economy, but more research is needed to find a cleaner way to burn the resource. He specifically mentioned techniques including carbon capture and sequestration.
While regulation has affected the coal industry, Warner said the biggest threat now is the cheap cost of natural gas. He worries that there might be too much of a rush to pursue fracking and believes more research is needed to determine if the technique causes environmental problems, such as groundwater pollution.