Posted on 12/01/2015 4:40:52 AM PST by thackney
...The latest touchstone of liberal policy, the regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions, is causing economic destruction and pushing poverty higher in the Appalachians. But those backing the climate-change agenda are doing their best to keep this reality hidden from the public.
Since 2012, 27 coal-mining companies with core operations in Central Appalachia, a region roughly centered in southern West Virginia, have filed for bankruptcy protection. The list includes a number of large-cap, publicly traded entities, such as Alpha Natural Resources, James River Coal and Patriot Coal. Production of coal in southern West Virginia declined by 45% between the first half of 2011 and the first half of 2015, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Since 2009, 332 coal mines in West Virginia have been closed, and 9,733 jobs--roughly 35% of the industry's total employment in the state--have been lost, figures from the West Virginia Coal Association show.
This has devastated the state's economy. West Virginia has the highest unemployment rate in the country, 6.9% as of October, compared with 5% nationwide. The local unemployment rates for counties in the southern part of the state reach nearly 13%. West Virginia also has the lowest labor-participation rate in the country. Of West Virginians over the age of 16, only 53% have a job or are looking for work, nine percentage points below the U.S. average.
Some of West Virginia's economic woes are structural. For instance, the state's median age, according to the 2010 census, is 41.3--the third highest in the country. That said, there is no denying that the collapse of coal mining has increased hardship and poverty.
Environmentalists claim that coal is being killed by market forces, including a slump in global commodity prices and increased competition from cheap natural gas...
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Wouldn’t this be the time to remove half of the West Virginia population and resettle them in forty-nine other states? It seems obvious that they are in some mood of desperation where they need to be forced refugees on other states.
I suspect those that want to move and have skills for other jobs already have.
Obama said he would bankrupt coal companies and he is. If you are surprised, you are a moron.
Obama said he would stand with muslims and he has.
Obama said he would fundamentally change America and he has.
He is doing exactly what he said he would do and stupid people act all shocked.
If you voted for Obama, especially if you voted for him twice, you are an enemy of America.
Could anyone tell me where the Republican majority is in either House of Congress?? We have too many McCains and Lindsay Grahams, full of bile for any conservatives and full of grandiose plans for fighting in obscure foreign countries for some unworthy cause while ignoring the plight of their fellow citizens created by this Administration.
Looks like the Capital has district 12 right where it wants them.
They want West Virginia coal mines back open. What is happening in Wyoming? I lived in Spfld, MO and the WY coal trains were always going through. Fun to watch.
HillWilliams are Obama’s worst nightmare. Independent, hard working, southerners.
I justify my hatred of the man with a statement from David, “Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?” Ps 139
I hate him more every single day. I have never known hate like this before and hope I never do again.
It’s a lot like Hitler and “Mein Kampf”. Hitler wrote a book explaining exactly how he felt about the Jews. It was a best seller. Then, when Hitler started his final solution, people were, like, “Whoa! Never saw that coming!” And they meant it.
One of the major focuses of Lyndon Johnson’s war on poverty was the Appalachian region. Billions of federal dollars have been poured into the region through anti-poverty programs and billions more have been infused into the region by long time Senator Robert Byrd using his power in the Senate to move entire federal agencies and departments out of DC into his home state of West Virginia. Despite all of this effort, the region remains poor.
It isn’t only energy policy hurting Appalachia. Thanks to the free trade policies of the last 25 years, the textile mills, apparel sewing operations, cabinet and furniture making factories, and consumer goods assembly operations that once offered undereducated and unskilled workers in the region a chance to climb the economic ladder are now located in Asia and Central America. Recent “free trade” legislation passed by Congress allowing US chickens to be processed in China means the poultry processing operations in the mountain region will be shutting down and moving offshore meaning thousands more low skilled Appalachian workers will become jobless.
Federal policies have a real impact on people. In the case of Appalachia, the people are invisible and have few advocates. They don’t riot, there are no Jessie Jackson’s and Al Sharptons talking about their condition. The northeastern and west coast liberal establishment is obsessed with the plight of minorities and immigrants so they ignore the suffering of poor whites a few thousand miles from their comfortable homes. To the progressive elites, Appalachia is a weekend at the Greenbriar or a ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway.
#whitelivesdontmatter
Wonder if the UMW are still big supporters of the Democrat party?
Hoss
Psalm 139:20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. 21 Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
I understand what you’re saying. To see the beautiful state of WV brought low - yet again - makes me sad. In a way, I wish we had something akin to the British Labour party which for generations spoke out on behalf of miners. Sometimes with terrible results, admittedly, but if we had a smidgen of respect for these people, I think we’d be in better shape.
I have visited WV about once a week since early August. The state is in terrible shape.
First, closing mines has meant the loss of jobs directly for miners. Then the companies servicing the mines have lost their customers and their sales. A company selling for instance tires for mining equipment is in trouble. So is the mining equipment company. There are numerous small manufacturers producing very specially designed mining equipment that no longer have enough sales to survive
It was written that the State was no longer collecting enough of the coal severance tax to make ends meet. The loss of that revenue can not be recovered by taxing another source because the primary other sources are gone or floundering. The problem becomes for all elected officials down the chain, how does one manage the reduction and cessation of government when there is such a chatostrospic hit to tax revenue.
My work there is over but on my last visit week before last, there was a major piece about schools. Aside from the fact the state has a serious reduction in available funds, the schools in most districts are experiencing loss of students. The families are leaving and their kids go away. This leaves schools with out the money that is paid per head by the state. In several counties where the population loss is greatest, the schools must remain open with fewer students to operate while the operational overhead remains near constant.
West Virginia is in a terrible mess. I am amazed that the state has not sent a hit squad to Washington to end the problem
Excellent post. I have bought many beautifully-made items from traditional artisans in Appalachia - brooms and baskets and Christmas ornaments, etc. All fairly expensive because of the labor involved in making these beautiful items. My interest in the area came from a childhood reading of Catherine Marshall’s fine book “Christy” and I’ve traveled some of the back roads of this region.
No, they don’t riot but they did kick out Jamie Oliver and made him cry on int’l tv! It doesn’t really get better than that.
fifty-seven
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