Sunday Gazette-Mail – Ted Boettner, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said the Patriot announcement is more evidence that the state needs to focus on planning an economic transition as the coal industry declines. Read
“The decision highlights the fragility of our state’s economy and the urgent need to take steps to ensure that we will always benefit from our rich natural resources,” Boettner said Friday.
“One way to do this is by creating a permanent trust from severance taxes or a Future Fund,” he said. “This can be done with existing revenue sources and can provide more stability and help us transition our economy. Mineral trust funds have a proven track record in several other energy states and there is no reason it can’t work here.”
