LogFAQs > #896582166

iClockwork posted...

But mothers will fight tooth and nail they have the hardest job in the world

I grew up in West Virginia. Not in the coal fields; but let me explain the mentality at some level.

As a corollary, let me state that I am not a huge fan of the extraction industries. West Virginia has produced huge amounts of coal, timber, and natural gas; yet, the state is very poor. The coal companies outright ran huge chunks of the state in the early part of the 20th century, enabled by the state and federal government. There were labor wars and rebellions, and things did improve. The government of the state did not plan for the future or a post coal-economy. The extraction industries also did little as well. The wealth generated by the industries went out of the state and to politicians. Now, the state is losing its one major source of income, coal, and has no plan B. The coal severance tax funds the state government -- look now, the public school teachers are on strike right now due to pay and benefit problems. The state us rural, rugged, and has poor infrastructure. The largest city has like 50,000 residents. It is hemorrhaging population and is devoured by pain killers and heroin.

----

Coal mining jobs pay well. They have union benefits, and they are the only source of good paying jobs in huge swaths of the state. Entire communities depend on coal being mined. If the mines shut down, towns fail and counties fail -- possibly the state without robust coal severance tax collections. Coal mining jobs in a lot of places in West Virginia are the only work available that lets you feed your family, visit Myrtle Beach for a week, pay for your kid's college, and hope for a better life for your kids. The miners and their families *know* the risks for the most part. They know them *well*. From the Battle of Matewan, to the Monongah Disaster, and the Sago Mine Disaster.

What are the alternatives? You can't poof in 80,000 dollar white collar tech jobs to Man, West Virginia overnight. You can't get an investment bank to setup in Beckley overnight. Amazon isn't going to lcate a cooperate headquarters in Williamson anytime soon. The alternative to coal mining for many of the miners is either poverty, or pray for retraining and finding a job 7 states away. Maybe they should retrain and move, but you can at least see the logic for wanting to defend their mining jobs in this context.
---

You know how fads are. Today it's brains, tomorrow, pierced tongues. Then the next day, pierced brains.
-Jane Lane