Coal’s Decline Seems Impervious to Trump’s Promises

[Trish]

In "coal mining country" there aren't a lot of jobs to be retrained for. Has nothing to do with "educational standards". You reflect the same faulty thinking that Clinton showed in her "I'm going to kill coal!!!" platform. Other than the mines, you have Dollar Stores, Walmart and groceries to work for unless you have enough pull to get a job with the state highway department or something like that. You cannot train people for jobs that don't exist and won't exist in these areas in the workers' lifetimes.

I agree. So where's the self responsibility at from these folks? At what point do you look around and realize there's NOTHING there and maybe you need to make some personal changes in order to provide or survive?

Are we not creating our own s hitholes here in America?

[MisterVeritis]

Yes, the story mentions that the safety regulations have been rolled back but the decline never really had to do with regulations but more with the market. The market for this type of coal has been steadily decreasing. This is what experts tried to tell those in coal but they refused to entertain anything other than the gov't was the problem.

This is not going to get any better for these families. It's time they realize reality and prepare for their next career move.

Obama did all he could to kill coal. Obama used the government as a weapon to harm every facet of the coal industry. I hope it comes back now that we have an American President again.

[Trish]

Obama did all he could to kill coal. Obama used the government as a weapon to harm every facet of the coal industry. I hope it comes back now that we have an American President again.

Progress is killing coal. It will never be the power industry it was because we are developing better technology. This is one of those instances where we are witnessing the old way slowly being overtaken by progress.

[MisterVeritis]

Progress is killing coal. It will never be the power industry it was because we are developing better technology. This is one of those instances where we are witnessing the old way slowly being overtaken by progress.

You have rewritten history. Congratulations. Obama's rape and attack on an entire industry has now become "progress".

[Kacper]

I agree. So where's the self responsibility at from these folks? At what point do you look around and realize there's NOTHING there and maybe you need to make some personal changes in order to provide or survive?

Are we not creating our own s hitholes here in America?

What is there is coal. Lots and lots of coal. Killing the coal mines would do for these areas what killing food stamps would do for the inner city. If it OK to kill coal, then it should be ok to kill public assistance. At what point does a poor single mom with 4 kids need to take some personal responsibility and make changes to survive? I don't know what you do for a living, but if the government decided to make that illegal, how would that be your fault?

[midcan5]

Trump is all talk, even his Carrier BS is falling apart. The grand irony here is that people take him serious as if this one person could save them from themselves. Travel America and it easy to see Americans do not support each other.

https://aeon.co/essays/how-economic-...came-to-an-end

"There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand. Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and tiny blasts of tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us." Pogo

[Trish]

What is there is coal. Lots and lots of coal. Killing the coal mines would do for these areas what killing food stamps would do for the inner city. If it OK to kill coal, then it should be ok to kill public assistance. At what point does a poor single mom with 4 kids need to take some personal responsibility and make changes to survive? I don't know what you do for a living, but if the government decided to make that illegal, how would that be your fault?

I don't know that I understand the question you are posing with regard to coal. You can't stop progress. You can try and stifle it for a time but it will eventually come at you full force. Coal is not the future, it's the past. It will never be what it was.

These workers have been given a window into the future through clear evidence of the industry's decline. They have a choice to make, blame everyone else for the decline or do something different.

[MisterVeritis]

I don't know that I understand the question you are posing with regard to coal. You can't stop progress. You can try and stifle it for a time but it will eventually come at you full force. Coal is not the future, it's the past. It will never be what it was.
These workers have been given a window into the future through clear evidence of the industry's decline. They have a choice to make, blame everyone else for the decline or do something different.

I predict we have not seen an end to coal. What we saw was an unconstitutional multi-year attack by the federal government under Barack Hussein O, on an entire industry. President Trump's administration has ended the attack. Obama harmed those people. This is the enormous evil an unconstrained government can do to its citizens. It is a shame the coal was not mined solely by illegal aliens. Then it would have been protected. We would have sanctuary coal mines.

What will happen? Smart people will figure out how to use the coal we have, perhaps in ways as yet unimagined.

[Dr. Who]

In "coal mining country" there aren't a lot of jobs to be retrained for. Has nothing to do with "educational standards". You reflect the same faulty thinking that Clinton showed in her "I'm going to kill coal!!!" platform. Other than the mines, you have Dollar Stores, Walmart and groceries to work for unless you have enough pull to get a job with the state highway department or something like that. You cannot train people for jobs that don't exist and won't exist in these areas in the workers' lifetimes.

There are many reasons why some industries don't move to certain areas - sometimes it's because there are not enough workers with the necessary skills. That's what I meant by education. In the interim, people will have to move or start their own businesses, because coal mining simply isn't going to continue to support these communities for years to come.

[Mini Me]

I predict we have not seen an end to coal. What we saw was an unconstitutional multi-year attack by the federal government under Barack Hussein O, on an entire industry. President Trump's administration has ended the attack. Obama harmed those people. This is the enormous evil an unconstrained government can do to its citizens. It is a shame the coal was not mined solely by illegal aliens. Then it would have been protected. We would have sanctuary coal mines.

What will happen? Smart people will figure out how to use the coal we have, perhaps in ways as yet unimagined.

Solution? Ship the coal to China, they want it, and don't mind killing their people with coal fumes.