Appalachia: Are there solutions?

[strollingbones]

lack of employment is a continuing issue..causing the younger ones to leave and then we have no kids for the schools...the young ones leaving can kill a community quickly

 

[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.

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?

I am hoping so. There have been some really good replies so far. I think a 'debate' will break out any time now. USMB style of course. I won't have it any other way.

 

[strollingbones]

there are some things about the area that are debatable and things that are not...first realize the diversity of the areas you are dealing with...i will admit even i am taken back by the poverty in parts of ky and wv...it is literally like stepping in 'god's little acre'

i am very mindful in this area of two facts...i have lived here 30 plus years and i am not a local...but my son is...there is a great area of gray allowed here...people are very religious but if you have two ladies living with you that is your business..marrying your cousin is still seen as allowable...

just a great area of gray....which includes killing someone who just annoys you.....quick tempers combined with guns...

 

[RandomVariable]

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.

Point Park

Backyard as a kid.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

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?

I am hoping so. There have been some really good replies so far. I think a 'debate' will break out any time now. USMB style of course. I won't have it any other way.

Count me out.

 

[RandomVariable]

U.S. Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) spoke Feb. 4 at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's Water and Wildlife Subcommittee hearing, "Examination of the Safety and Security of Drinking Water Supplies Following the Central West Virginia Drinking Water Crisis."

 

[RandomVariable]

My apologies for just dumping stuff on the thread like this but gives me a place to find it later and I hope it does some good overall.

U.S. Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives Oct. 23 in support of H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013.

[ame=http://youtu.be/H-m4gVIm0oQ]Rep. Capito: Water bill will support WV jobs - YouTube[/ame]
Currently the bill is in conference committee, both chambers, House and Senate, work in unison to produce a bill acceptable to all, at least a majority of all.
Conference on Water Resources Legislation Described as Headed Toward April 30 Finish | Bloomberg BNA

 

[RandomVariable]

6/13/13: In a hearing on the Department of Energy FY2014 budget, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, PhD, tries to explain that he knows global warming is man-made because of data to befuddled climate denier Rep. David McKinley (R-WV).

[ame=http://youtu.be/qtn9Am44JHg]Ernest Moniz Explains Climate Science To Rep. David McKinley (R-WV): "My Judgment Is Based On Data" - YouTube[/ame]

 

[RandomVariable]

Kind of a follow on to the previous video.
[ame=http://youtu.be/ylCh9LOKCeA]Rep. Nick Rahall comments on storm recovery efforts - YouTube[/ame]

 

[RandomVariable]

This is a little more background on the H.R. 3080. Rep. Nick Rahall speaks in the video.
[ame=http://youtu.be/IbuSn2uSvzc]T-TV News Update:: House T and I Chair Shuster Introduces WRRDA - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Katzndogz]

According to democrats the solution lies with eliminating pride among the people of the mountain country. Despite being in poverty, the mountain folk stubbornly remain proud of themselves. Because they do still have pride in what and who they are, they are less likely to relinquish their well being to the government. The solution is to eliminate that kind of pride.

USDA Combats ?Mountain Pride,? Self-Reliance to Boost Food Stamp Rolls | American Renaissance

Articles: 'Mountain Pride' versus the Welfare State

 

[RandomVariable]

In case anyone did not catch the theme those are the three U.S. Representatives of West Virgina. W.V. about the heart of Appalachia. W.V. had her 150th birthday last year. The two U.S. Senators are Sen. John “Jay” Rockefeller IV and Sen. Joe Manchin III.

 

[RandomVariable]

According to democrats the solution lies with eliminating pride among the people of the mountain country. Despite being in poverty, the mountain folk stubbornly remain proud of themselves. Because they do still have pride in what and who they are, they are less likely to relinquish their well being to the government. The solution is to eliminate that kind of pride.

USDA Combats ?Mountain Pride,? Self-Reliance to Boost Food Stamp Rolls | American Renaissance

Articles: 'Mountain Pride' versus the Welfare State

You think anyone wants to give food stamps to them mountain folk? Not really. We want to give them about as much as they want to get them. What we really want for them to get something to eat and get back to work!

 

[Grandma]

And they want jobs. "Idle hands do the devil's work" is a common saying.

Why aren't jobs coming into Appalachia? Prime property's cheap, even in the bigger towns, tons of potential employees, taxes aren't too high, since most of the area's depressed there are government grants available... so why aren't the high rollers rolling in?

 

[strollingbones]

lack of...where does one begin...here the roads are an issue....we still have roads that 18 wheelers cannot navigate ...property is cheap but if a large plant comes in...they have to really reach out to get workers...baxters off the mountain hires w/i a 100 miles radius and supplies buses to bring workers in....we are still a very underpopulated area depending on tourism....

i see no problem with ashe country workers getting out and helping people sign up for programs need....that mountain pride should not mean kids go hungry or people nearly freeze in the winter...it has been several hard winters now...people need help....if you fully understood the programs....one will come in and help insulate a house...new windows etc....

and this not being a culturally diverse area...it may be hard to talk upper level plant types to come to the area....

 

[strollingbones]

lack of...i drive at least 100 miles to go to a trader joes....lack of....anything much to do after 8 pm...lack of...public transportation.....

 

[RandomVariable]

lack of...i drive at least 100 miles to go to a trader joes....lack of....anything much to do after 8 pm...lack of...public transportation.....

When I was about 16 the family moved from Leslie, Arkansas to Marietta, Georgia. In Arkansas it was 9 miles into town, 6 miles of which were unpaved. In Marietta I could walk out the subdivision and get a soda 24 hours a day. That thought almost kept me up at night for a while.

 

[strollingbones]

omg even now when i go to the city i am amazed at it....i was in one city looking at an apartment building when someone ask me what i was thinking....i replied...there are more people living in that building than live in my entire county

i am not very citified....but have a charm for hailing cabs...who knew it was a talent?

 

[RandomVariable]

Here's a country boy's story for ya. I was doing the required land navigation course one day. My buddy was a city kid. We had the compass and the relief map and it was broad daylight in thin woods, Ft. Devons if anyone knows it. I started joking around that we were lost. He started to get really freaked. I explained to him there were roads, trails, and wood lines in all directions. I pointed to the relief lines on map and our location. It struck me that he might has well been on another planet and I was home.

 

[Grandma]

lack of...where does one begin...here the roads are an issue....we still have roads that 18 wheelers cannot navigate ...property is cheap but if a large plant comes in...they have to really reach out to get workers...baxters off the mountain hires w/i a 100 miles radius and supplies buses to bring workers in....we are still a very underpopulated area depending on tourism....

i see no problem with ashe country workers getting out and helping people sign up for programs need....that mountain pride should not mean kids go hungry or people nearly freeze in the winter...it has been several hard winters now...people need help....if you fully understood the programs....one will come in and help insulate a house...new windows etc....

and this not being a culturally diverse area...it may be hard to talk upper level plant types to come to the area....

The northern end is more heavily populated and the roads are somewhat better. There are rail lines, the mighty Ohio River, and a few airports handy.

People there use the programs, but with such high unemployment the money gets spread pretty thin.