19 months into #TrumpSewer: Coal jobs have dropped in Eastern Kentucky. Income has followed, new rep

[riversedge]

Steve Inskeep
‏Verified account @NPRinskeep
Aug 19

19 months into the Trump administration, news of Kentucky's distressed coal counties: "No significant increase in coal jobs;" income is down; some of America's most desperately poor people are falling farther behind those in wealthy areas.

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Coal jobs have dropped in Eastern Kentucky. Income has followed, new report shows

By Bill Estep

[e-mail]



August 18, 2018 03:48 PM

Updated August 19, 2018 08:08 AM

Personal income has gone down in several Eastern Kentucky counties where coal employment has been decimated in recent years, according to a report from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

In Harlan County, for instance, per capita market income fell from $13,053 in 2015 to $12,579 in 2016, while in Perry County it dropped from $19,726 in 2015 to $19,043 in 2016, the most recent year covered in the ARC’s calculations.

Pike, Knott, Bell, Breathitt, Leslie, Letcher and Johnson also were among the Eastern Kentucky coal counties that saw a drop in per capita market income.

The declines were a factor in income in Appalachian Kentucky losing ground in comparison to the U.S. level.
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Per capita market income in Appalachian Kentucky equaled 48.3 percent of the national level in 2015, but that fell to 46.8 in 2016, according to the ARC report.

Nationally, the income figure went up in 2016 to $40,679, but in Kentucky’s Appalachian counties, it edged down from $19,204 in 2015 to $19,022 in 2016.

That was the lowest level of any area in Appalachia, which the federal government defines as covering all of West Virginia, about half of Kentucky and parts of 11 other states.

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/article216946520.html#storylink=cpy

[riversedge]

1. Coal jobs in Eastern Kentucky have plummeted from 14,619 in 2011 to 3,909 in the second quarter of t

..............Coal jobs in Eastern Kentucky have plummeted from 14,619 in 2011 to 3,909 in the second quarter of this year, according to the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet.

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/article216946520.html#storylink=cpy

[SWBTATTReg]

3. Just curious...did they, when the coal jobs dried up, develop any other jobs, etc.?

Just wondering what the republican senators of these states did for these folks, after all, they've been in control of Congress for a while...

The need for coal is continuing to dry up, so where and what are these folks doing, to make ends meet? This looks like a continuing thread, so it looks like (despite what rump does, the overall industry drivers are no longer there, in use of dirty coal (clean coal yes))...

[Permanut]

6. The legitimate winner of last November 2016 election..

That would be Hillary Clinton, had this to say to the West Virginia coal miners in May 2016:


"..Clinton did say that she would be putting coal companies out of business, as a result of moving toward renewable energy sources. But she followed that by saying she wanted to create new economic opportunities for current coal workers, possibly spurred by clean energy development."

[link:https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/may/10/context-hillary-clintons-comments-about-coal-jobs/|

[NewJeffCT]

7. new industry and new job training is hard, though

skating by till retirement in the same old job is a lot easier, and following the guy that says you can skate by is easy.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Seems a mistake to say that 2016 data is 2018 data. . . . nt

[ProfessorGAC]

5. That Bothered Me Too

The first response from the troglodytes will be "See what Obama did?"

Now, i doubt there has been any significant uptick in either jobs or income, but this just sets itself up for the opposite of what was expected as a response.

[fierywoman]

4. And Trump's numbers there ?

[gratuitous]

8. But Trump told them what they wanted to hear

It doesn't matter if Trump was just blowing smoke up their shaft, he told these frightened people what they wanted to hear. If Trump failed to deliver on his promises, Trump has a full coalcart of excuses and folks to blame for that. After a very short time, the people he screwed over will provide their own excuses for why Trump didn't keep his promises. In fact, they'll even convince themselves that Trump kept his promises.

If you try to correct their perception, you will become part of the reason their economic condition is so fucked, and it will be your fault. You should have clapped harder so that Tinker Bell could live, but you didn't, and now the people in coal country will have to overcome your failure.

[workinclasszero]

9. I believe Hillary had a plan to help people

in that region.

But emails and a white con man criminal took the vote there.

They can rot for all I care. Enjoy your lyin President and his GOP party for billionaires, idiots.

[riversedge]

11. yes, she did. she talked about at her rallies and posted it on her web page. all is lost now.

[workinclasszero]

14. Are Americans just naturally dumber than people

in other countries?

I just don’t get the Darwin levels of self extinction that Trump/GOP voters have.

A damn worm has a better sense of survival than any working class Trump voter has.

[Scurrilous]

10. K&R

[NickB79]

12. Income is down AND inflation is shooting up

And if Trump gets his trade war, oh boy will prices spike.

Dumb motherfuckers, all of them.

[TeamPooka]

13. womp womp

Vote Democratic Kentucky, do yourselves a favor.