Come around if you want to.
Stay away if you must.
Walking around with them greenbacks saying,
“In God We Trust.”
But you forgot about the rest of us,
And more…
You gave us opioids and a Dollar General store.
Ascend WV is a politician’s dream. The program relies on gifted private sector money to pay folks $12,000 to move to West Virginia for two years. They can keep their out-of-state day jobs and work remotely from a West Virginia address.
In addition to cold cash, the incentive package includes, a year of free outdoor recreation, over $1,200 worth of free outdoor gear rentals, free coworking spaces, professional advancement through WVU, networking opportunities with state business leaders, and social events for “incoming residents to meet new people.”
The $25 million program is bankrolled by wealthy Mountain State native Brad Smith and his wife. He is the former CEO of Intuit and currently Executive Chairman of the Board. He reportedly owns nearly $250 million in the company’s stock and draws a salary north of $13.6 million a year for being Chairman.
Ascend WV is touting three featured cities: Morgantown a “lively college town brimming with culture and innovation,” Lewisburg with its “small town, community focus, offering a dreamy mountain lifestyle,” and Shepherdstown with its “mountain elegance and historic charm.”
As an afterthought, the Ascend WV website puts a low key plug in for Marion County, Beckley, Charleston, and Wheeling. Nicely played marketing folks. Lest your “featured cities,” with their “lively, dreamy mountain, and elegant/historic charm” may well be off putting for some in other parts of the state.
At this writing, Morgantown is the only “featured city” in play with 50 slots. There was a reported initial interest in Morgantown among some 3,600 people, or $43.2 million worth of interest, with a $25 million budget that will be hard pressed to fund 2,000 participants overall.
In short, these “featured cities” already have a competitive advantage among the well-educated and well off. They boast low unemployment rates and infrastructure that includes drinkable tap water, medical care, and broadband internet.
The same cannot be said for other parts of West Virginia. Ascend West Virginia is more public relations than progress to rebuild communities.