Appalachian transition: Why coalfield residents need to help themselves diversify their economy

[theHandpuppet]

4. If you keep people mired in poverty...

...and discourage educational opportunities, economic diversification, then invest huge sums of money in a fear campaign, what you have is a desperate labor force willing to do anything to keep those few well-paying jobs. You can't expect people to worry about the 20 years from now when they must worry about putting food on the table from day to day. To many of these folks its either the mines or Wal-Mart, WV's biggest employer. As a nation we have failed to provide a safety net to replace those jobs or to invest in economic diversification.