Appalachia: Are there solutions?

[RandomVariable]

While reading Ryan's "War on Poverty" I came to the section on the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). I think this region is worth serious national discussion. The dynamics are huge and deep. With the 2015 budget soon to be deep in debate what is to be done here should be among the topics discussed, although I have not heard it discussed yet. I will add to this thread as I come across items of note. I would love to hear what people think about the subject, especially from people directly affected by policy in the region.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

While reading Ryan's "War on Poverty" I came to the section on the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). I think this region is worth serious national discussion. The dynamics are huge and deep. With the 2015 budget soon to be deep in debate what is to be done here should be among the topics discussed, although I have not heard it discussed yet. I will add to this thread as I come across items of note. I would love to hear what people think about the subject, especially from people directly affected by policy in the region.

It would help if you were to be more specific. And also explain the graph you posted.

 

[RandomVariable]

 

[RandomVariable]

From Rep. Ryan's "War on Poverty", 2014

Appalachian Regional Commission
Purpose
The Appalachian Regional Commission is a federal-state partnership to help the Appalachian
region reach socioeconomic parity with the rest of the nation.
History
The Appalachian Regional Commission was created by the Appalachian Regional Development
Act of 1965. The 13 member states are Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi,
New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West
Virginia. ARC serves 420 counties and 25 million people across all of West Virginia and parts
of the other 12 member states.
The commission itself comprises the governors of the 13 member states and a federal co-chair
(a presidential appointment subject to Senate confirmation). The other co-chair is selected
annually by the governors from within their own ranks.
ARC has established four priority goals for the region: 1) increase job opportunities and per
capita income; 2) strengthen the capacity of the people to compete in the global environment;
3) develop and improve infrastructure; and 4) build the Appalachian Development Highway
System to reduce isolation.629 In order to achieve these goals, the commission seeks to
coordinate all available federal funding to provide leverage for local government and private
investment. Grants are awarded for priority regional activities such as reforestation, green
energy, food-system development, and community-based philanthropy.
The ARC program was reformed by major legislation in 1975, 1998, and 2002. Of these, the
Appalachian Regional Development Reform Act of 1998 was the most comprehensive. The act
divided ARC counties into three categories—distressed, competitive, and attainment—and
placed a 30 percent federal match cap on projects in competitive counties. ARC assistance to
attainment counties was prohibited, limits on federal matches for other types of projects were
instituted, and certain ARC programs were repealed. Finally, the 1998 Reform Act further
adjusted the commission’s decision-making process (a major element of the 1975 reform).
Another significant development came in 1998 with the passage of the Transportation Equity
Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), which moved funding for the ADHS from the General Fund
(through the annual ARC appropriation) to the Highway Trust Fund.

 

[RandomVariable]

I don't see this as a issue about politics but of what people think.
The Shift Of King Coal - NationalJournal.com

The Shift Of King Coal
The coal industry still dominates in Appalachia, and that's bad news for the Democratic party.

...

"When you attack guns and coal, you're attacking what they in the mountains consider their birthright," said Jim Cauley, a Democratic strategist and Kentucky native who managed President Obama's campaign for U.S. Senate in 2004. "They'll feel like you're attacking their culture."

...

 

[nuclear7]

There is already a lot of marijuana cultivation there from what I understand. Let them grow pot legally and export it. Make it a tax free marijuana zone and I am sure the economy will pick up. All the cops and prison guards that would not be needed could then work security for the pot farms or work in regulation. Instant economic expansion, lower public law enforcement costs, lower incarceration costs, increased tax revenue for the state and increased employment What's not to like?

 

[RandomVariable]

Mountain Metamorphosis

Appalachian coal country used to vote for Democrats, but the region has transformed into a Republican stronghold over the last 30 years.
Presidential results by county

 

[RandomVariable]

Coal Combustion Residuals - Proposed Rule | Industrial Waste | US EPA

Coal Combustion Residuals - Proposed Rule

Coal Combustion Residuals, often referred to as coal ash, are currently considered exempt wastes under an amendment to RCRA, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. They are residues from the combustion of coal in power plants and captured by pollution control technologies, like scrubbers. Potential environmental concerns from coal ash pertain to pollution from impoundment and landfills leaching into ground water and structural failures of impoundments, like that which occurred at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plant in Kingston, Tennessee. The need for national management criteria was emphasized by the December 2008 spill of CCRs from a surface impoundment near Kingston, TN. The tragic spill flooded more than 300 acres of land with CCRs and flowed into the Emory and Clinch rivers.

EPA is proposing to regulate for the first time coal ash to address the risks from the disposal of the wastes generated by electric utilities and independent power producers. EPA is considering two possible options for the management of coal ash for public comment. Both options fall under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Under the first proposal, EPA would list these residuals as special wastes subject to regulation under subtitle C of RCRA, when destined for disposal in landfills or surface impoundments. Under the second proposal, EPA would regulate coal ash under subtitle D of RCRA, the section for non-hazardous wastes. The Agency considers each proposal to have its advantages and disadvantages, and includes benefits which should be considered in the public comment period.

 

[RandomVariable]

There is already a lot of marijuana cultivation there from what I understand. Let them grow pot legally and export it. Make it a tax free marijuana zone and I am sure the economy will pick up. All the cops and prison guards that would not be needed could then work security for the pot farms or work in regulation. Instant economic expansion, lower public law enforcement costs, lower incarceration costs, increased tax revenue for the state and increased employment What's not to like?

Even if this were the plan the infrastructure is pretty well shot. There would probably need some heavy grants to bootstrap the transformation. The other thing is California might go for legalizing marijuana but East Tennessee and West North Carolina probably not so much.

 

[RandomVariable]

My point with the above posts is can poverty be addressed by government grants, and does the region even want that. There is also the battle between King Coal and the EPA. In some ways the area is like a hurricane with all the little vortexes within that.

 

[RandomVariable]

Corporate Snapshot

Name: Tennessee Valley Authority

Industry: Utilities
Sales Revenues: $10.8 billion
Power Sales: 162 billion kwh
Financing: Receives no appropriated tax dollars
Employees: 12,612
Taxes: Paid more than
$547 million in tax equivalent payments

The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states at prices below the national average. TVA, which receives no taxpayer money and makes no profits, also provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists utilities and state and local governments with economic development. TVA's Mission and Vision TVA has renewed its vision to help lead the Tennessee Valley region and the nation toward a cleaner and more secure energy future, relying more on nuclear power and energy efficiency and relying less on coal.

TVA:

TVA Reservoirs and Power Plants
Use this map to link to detailed information on all of TVA’s facilities.
Point to a colored dot on the map to see the TVA site name. Click for more information.
or
Point to a name on the list to see the site location on the map. Click for more information.

 

[Grandma]

King Coal is dying and Fracking is the Heir Apparent.

They're already doing mountaintop removal coal mining, which suggests that the Appalachian coal supplies are running out.

The problem in the region is that there's never been any sort of job diversity. You mine coal, you make 'shine, you draw welfare, those are the choices for too many people. Access to a good education is at best iffy for many of the residents, but even those that do have a good education have nowhere to use their degrees.

The roads are ridiculous. Public transportation is nonexistant.

I grew up there, I know those people, I'm related to quite a few. The people are clever, resourceful, and hard working, but they aren't being given a chance.

Those folks in Texas and California having to kill their cattle because of the drought, why don't they ship the cows to ByGod? Plenty of good green grass there and in Ohio too.

 

[RandomVariable]

King Coal is dying and Fracking is the Heir Apparent.

They're already doing mountaintop removal coal mining, which suggests that the Appalachian coal supplies are running out.

The problem in the region is that there's never been any sort of job diversity. You mine coal, you make 'shine, you draw welfare, those are the choices for too many people. Access to a good education is at best iffy for many of the residents, but even those that do have a good education have nowhere to use their degrees.

The roads are ridiculous. Public transportation is nonexistant.

I grew up there, I know those people, I'm related to quite a few. The people are clever, resourceful, and hard working, but they aren't being given a chance.

Those folks in Texas and California having to kill their cattle because of the drought, why don't they ship the cows to ByGod? Plenty of good green grass there and in Ohio too.

That's an excellent suggestion. As long as we can keep the cows and the marijuana in separate fields we're all set.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

Clean Debate Zone.

Where is the debate?

 

[RandomVariable]

Clean Debate Zone.

Where is the debate?

Nothing else fit. I could of put it in politics. Everything goes in politics. But I did not want this to be a red/blue thing. It will be sooner or later I expect.

 

[9thIDdoc]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4s0nzsU1Wg]A Country Boy Can Survive - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Mountain Metamorphosis

Appalachian coal country used to vote for Democrats, but the region has transformed into a Republican stronghold over the last 30 years.
Presidential results by county

Very sad to see people vote against their own best interests. I recently posted a graphic about Kentucky whites having the highest percentage on food stamps.

And, then there's this -

 

[9thIDdoc]

Rednecks rule!
And there's no finer place in the world to live and raise children than Appalachia.
If you don't like the way we live, be advised that the feeling is probably mutual and you should feel free to stay in your own urban cesspool.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

Clean Debate Zone.

Where is the debate?

Nothing else fit. I could of put it in politics. Everything goes in politics. But I did not want this to be a red/blue thing. It will be sooner or later I expect.

The reason I asked is because you are not presenting an argument to debate. You're asking for opinions on what solutions we may have on a specific topic.

Are you planning to debate opinions?

 

[strollingbones]

Rednecks rule!
And there's no finer place in the world to live and raise children than Appalachia.
If you don't like the way we live, be advised that the feeling is probably mutual and you should feel free to stay in your own urban cesspool.

i live in the mountains of nc...my son never knew what a stranger was as a child...he could ask anyone on the creek for help and it would be given...yeap we live in a hollar...
*defined here as a dead end up that goes up between two hills* it is nice in the hollar....people wave with all their fingers..things like that....we are all armed to the hilt...so its peaceful too

wages are lower but so are prices and we have two of the richest areas in the country...blowing rock nc and elk river...old money and new money