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Canton Ohio? Hope you get it. If you do, contact me, and I'll invite you out to our farm.

We can do some groundhog skeet. I think Steve has never had time to visit because he's

afraid of a little furry groundhog in a hole....

It is in the same company as northeast and west coast states but without any diversity in their economy.

@westside-steve said:

If a politician would come forward and say they are willing to lower corporate and small business taxes, I would be for them. The business climate in West Virginia is awful and geared only towards the coal industry. If they could do more to bring in more business, they could retain college graduates and skilled labor that leaves the area. We get exactlly zero politicians who will come out and back these sorts of measures. We end up with multiple candidates all chirping about coal and only coal.

The problem arises in that when someone mentions it, attacks ads pop up saying Joe Candidate is "for billionaires". It is hilarious hypocrisy because the naysayers will then go and get on their knees for coal reps. The idiot masses here dive right into it but no one running will get me out to vote.

WSS .

An example of the cartoony debates here.

@logicisforsquares said:

In the water poisoning fiasco, Freedom Industries, the company responsible for the leak of poisonous chemicals into the water supply,

declared bankruptcy just days after the leak, absolving themselves of all financial responsibility. State politicians didn't miss a beat in

urging the EPA not to overreact with "punishing" regulations against the industry.

to the coalfields of southern WV--where most of the coal was mined and made coal companies EXTREMELY

rich--you will find something that more resembles a third world shitthole. That is what I was referring to when

I spoke of ignorant people voting against their best interests. Wyoming and McDowell counties in WV are among

the poorest areas in the U.S. It is no exaggeration to say that they look like third world wastelands. It is difficult

to look at these areas and argue that coal has been good for the people that live there.

any one that lives in an area with electricity generated by coal plants, or in an area where the EPA has taken coal plants off line has probably noticed, as I have, an increase in the electric bill.

Perhaps it was necessary at the time, but now it seems that the EPA is one of the dirtiest tricks Richard Nixon played on the United States Citizenry.

@westside-steve said:

So what kind of policies do you want?

WSS

Maybe someone who has some foresight and adjust tax policy to attract businesses that will be here after coal dies out.

@gftchris said:

WV has a population of roughly 1.8 million people. 21,000 of which are coal miners. It's fascinating, in a very depressing

way, the sway that coal/coal companies have over this state. In the 1950's there were 150,000 coal miners. The drop since

then is due mostly to automation--coal companies discovered they could mine more coal for less money if they used machines

instead of men. Now almost all of the "good" coal in deep seams has already been mined. Coal mined out West is cheaper

but it's "Obama's War on Coal" and the EPA that is responsible for the plight of the coal miner in WV.

As Logic said, WV politicians only job is to maintain the red carpet/knee pads for the coal companies. Add to that a lot of

ignorant people who consistently vote against their own interests.

WSS

@gftchris said:

Yes, Capito always beats the drum of "government baaaad", although whenever anything that is beneficial to the people

opens or is instituted with help/money from the federal government, Shelley is right there to get her picture taken so that

everyone can see what a great job she's doing as the people's representative.

@logicisforsquares said:

Exactly. The mantra of this election has been "Obama's War on Coal" and the heathen EPA.

Shelley Moore Capito is the daughter of Arch Moore, former WV congressman and governor, and ex-con.

He went to federal prison for extortion, obstruction, etc. His pattern of corruption goes back to the 1960's.

Google "Buffalo Creek Disaster" and you will see everything you need to know about Arch Moore. Shelley

basically got elected to congress because, inexplicably, there are a lot of West Virginian's who think Arch was the shit.

Natalie Tennant was the first ever female Mountaineer mascot at WVU. She is presently secretary of state and if you've

watched the debates it is painfully obvious that neither candidate is worthy of the United States Senate.

@gftchris said:

Expecting the political class to have policies that benefit a wide range of people is a recipe for futility. Even very smart people like Herbert Hoover cant manage the totality that is the U.S.

Which is meaningless, anyway. Because he represents me, and about 800,000 other people plus his real constitutents, the lobbyists. Representative Republic my ass......

@gftchris said:

I'm bored of this now. As described, they're just going back and forth over who can give the biggest shout-out to the coal miners, and not talking about anything else.

About 20k people involved in coal in West Virginia. About 1.8m people in West Virginia. So even if you assume that each of those coal-workers are supporting a family of 6(?) you're still talking to less than 10% of the population.

The rest are on government assistance, working retail jobs to supply services to the miners and their families, or working in the small bit of forestry work (me).

About 20k people involved in coal in West Virginia. About 1.8m people in West Virginia. So even if you assume that each of those coal-workers are supporting a family of 6(?) you're still talking to less than 10% of the population.