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Tax hikes bad for W.Va.

Well, thanks for the pocket change, governor. Now, let’s talk about the real money.

On Monday, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources officials announced a plan to charge entrance fees to six state parks and one state forest. The idea was to raise money to address maintenance concerns at the facilities.

Just before midnight Tuesday, Gov. Jim Justice’s office revealed he was killing the plan.

“West Virginians are struggling, and at this time there is no way I can go along with charging a fee to enjoy our state parks,” the governor said, according to his press office. “The move was announced without my approval. It’s a bad idea and I’m going to fix it.”

Leaving aside the governor’s obvious problem of agency heads who allegedly take sweeping action without consulting him, let us look at the dollars and cents.

DNR officials planned to charge $2 per vehicle entry fees to Coopers Rock State Forest and Blackwater Falls, Babcock, Cacapon, Little Beaver, Pipestem and Valley Falls state parks. Twelve-dollar annual passes were to be made available.

So let us assume the governor’s action saved state park enthusiasts $12 a year.

Meanwhile, he continues to push for a budget including $244 million a year in tax increases. That works out to an average of about $133 annually for each and every person in our state.

Justice has one thing right: Many West Virginians are struggling. But at least, if he gets his way, we’ll be able to enjoy state parks free of charge.

Those of us who can afford to get there, at least.

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