60/60 #39
86,859 - number of coal miners employed in the US the day Obama took office
89,423 - number of coal miners in America today.
If Obama is waging a war on coal, he's doing a terrible job of it. Coal mining in Appalachia is at a 14 year high. Kentucky has seen a net loss of roughly 1,000 jobs during Obama's 1st term, but West Virginia and Virginia have seen net gains of roughly 4,000. I am reminded of James Baker III's famous quote when asked if he was worried about alienating Jewish voters by talking to the Palistinians about peace when he said "@#$% 'em, they didn't vote for us." Well, coal miners didn't vote for Obama any more than Jewish people voted for Reagan.
The coal industry likes to talk about a war on coal being waged by the EPA and the President. That's a nice sound bite, but they're only lying to themselves (and their union members). The reality is that the free market economy is putting coal out of business. It's harder to mine, and natural gas is cheaper than ever. There's a very well written article on the current state of the coal industry here, if you'd like to read up. It includes the historical context as well; how coal miners struggled for hourly pay, a 5-day work week (versus 7), safety regulations that other industries enjoy today, and how the coal industry was the first to pay black and white workers equally. Kentucky has seen tremendous improvements in air quality thanks to the clean air act, while still showing tremendous economic growth. Regulation and growth are not mutually exclusive, and I appreciate not having acid rain. Take a look at this chart showing the decrease in pollutants in our air.
Coal is a big deal in Kentucky, but the industry needs to face the fact that it is on the decline. Denying that only delays the inevitable - that we'll have thousands of citizens in the poorest part of the country who have no training in anything other coal mining and there will be no coal jobs. Is it fair to those people to let them become modern day "buggy whip" makers, or don't we owe it to them to begin preparing them for the ultimate outcome here? The GOP loves to hate Obama's investments in clean energy, but as I pointed out in an earlier post, we've subsidized every "new" form of energy that has come along since timber, including coal. It's NOT subsidizing solar and wind that would mark a change of course.
89,423 - number of coal miners in America today.
If Obama is waging a war on coal, he's doing a terrible job of it. Coal mining in Appalachia is at a 14 year high. Kentucky has seen a net loss of roughly 1,000 jobs during Obama's 1st term, but West Virginia and Virginia have seen net gains of roughly 4,000. I am reminded of James Baker III's famous quote when asked if he was worried about alienating Jewish voters by talking to the Palistinians about peace when he said "@#$% 'em, they didn't vote for us." Well, coal miners didn't vote for Obama any more than Jewish people voted for Reagan.
The coal industry likes to talk about a war on coal being waged by the EPA and the President. That's a nice sound bite, but they're only lying to themselves (and their union members). The reality is that the free market economy is putting coal out of business. It's harder to mine, and natural gas is cheaper than ever. There's a very well written article on the current state of the coal industry here, if you'd like to read up. It includes the historical context as well; how coal miners struggled for hourly pay, a 5-day work week (versus 7), safety regulations that other industries enjoy today, and how the coal industry was the first to pay black and white workers equally. Kentucky has seen tremendous improvements in air quality thanks to the clean air act, while still showing tremendous economic growth. Regulation and growth are not mutually exclusive, and I appreciate not having acid rain. Take a look at this chart showing the decrease in pollutants in our air.
Coal is a big deal in Kentucky, but the industry needs to face the fact that it is on the decline. Denying that only delays the inevitable - that we'll have thousands of citizens in the poorest part of the country who have no training in anything other coal mining and there will be no coal jobs. Is it fair to those people to let them become modern day "buggy whip" makers, or don't we owe it to them to begin preparing them for the ultimate outcome here? The GOP loves to hate Obama's investments in clean energy, but as I pointed out in an earlier post, we've subsidized every "new" form of energy that has come along since timber, including coal. It's NOT subsidizing solar and wind that would mark a change of course.
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