Posted on 01/12/2016 5:05:09 AM PST by thackney
Arch Coal filed for Chapter 11 protection on Monday, continuing an industry collapse that includes the bankruptcies of Patriot Coal, Walter Energy and Alpha Natural Resources. The White House must be cheering, because this is one Obama energy policy that seems to be working.
As President Obama prepares to deliver his final State of the Union address Tuesday, we wonder if he'll take pride in the damage his policies have done to the coal industry. According to the National Mining Association, 40,000 coal jobs have been lost in the U.S. since 2008.
The wealth destruction has been equally dramatic. Peabody Energy is a going concern, but its shares have declined by roughly 95% in the last year. Investor Paul Tice recently wrote in these pages that 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." We told you in November that coal production nationwide has declined by about 15% since 2008. Reasons include slowing global demand and competition from natural gas in electricity generation. But commodity prices are cyclical, while regulation is forever.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
I know for a fact the miners obeyed their union bosses and voted lockstep for the so called Democrat in 2008.
“I know for a fact the miners obeyed their union bosses and voted lockstep for the so-called Democrat in 2008.”
Correction: “I know for a fact the miners obeyed...and goosestepped for the so-called Democrat in 2008.”
IMHO
Who cares?
Everyone knows that
electricity comes out of the wall
hot water comes from the faucet, and
the room is heated by the thermostat
HEY,
Talk to Joe Manchin.
You rubes elected him/
Obama alone turned West VA Republican after 80 years of solid democrat control. Why is Manchin A) still a democrat and B) still a democrat in office?
“Obama alone turned West VA Republican after 80 years of solid democrat control. Why is Manchin A) still a democrat and B) still a democrat in office?”
Manchin will win the primary but lose his seat. We need a strong Conservative there.
In 2008 we in IBEW (in the coal power plant industry) were told “vote your paycheck”. So I did, and it WASN”T for Obama. We all knew Obama said “under my plan of cap and trade electricity prices will necessarily skyrocket” and knew Obama didn’t care about our paychecks.
Fast forward to late 2015 and the CPP. Our company was looking for help from the IBEW in Washington fighting the CPP. IBEW initially said they were “partnering with the DOE and the Obama administration” on “making the CPP work for everyone”. Members here did NOT like that very much at all. I sent some scathing letters to the Local BA and said he could send them to whoever up the line. We had a petition against the CPP that nearly 80% of our local members signed. Lo and behold the IBEW changed its tune and initiated their own lawsuit against the EPA over the CPP.
It’s amazing how coal states could vote for a Democrat Senator who advocates coal. Their votes against their own party come with a wink-wink. Low info types don’t see it.
Well Heidi Heitkamp seems to understand the issues and seems to be on the right side of them. I don’t trust her to not vote party line if the chips are down though.
I didn’t vote for her.
Remember half of the buildings and highways in WV are named after Robert Byrd. He moved the FBI Fingerprint operations into WV to replace all the lost coal jobs. Yes, he was the real conscience of the Senate. /sarc
I retired from coal power plants back in 2008 just before the Presidential election. Before that, in the thirty years I was in IBEW I NEVER voted for the person they wanted me to vote for.
Once the company had a mock vote to see how the men would vote. While I supported the company’s candidate, I refuse to let my mock vote be known so I voted for the most radical candidate on the mock ballot.
In the real election I voted for the man I wanted.
Just....wow.
I live in Kentucky in the heart of coal country and obama and the EPA has devastated the local economies. The Democrats response to the economic destruction is the Republicans did this and it’s not our fault. Here’s a government check even though you are 50 yrs. old go back to school and start over again because coal is dirty and we are saving the planet, just not your family anymore. El Duce II did keep his promise to destroy coal companies.
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