Kentucky is officially the "Worst Run State in America" (Lexington: costs, malls)

[kentuckydad95]

Besides coal, what else is the Appy region of KY good for?

[KerryB]

Originally Posted by kentuckydad95

Besides coal, what else is the Appy region of KY good for?

Nothing. At least as far as the state & country are concerned. And thats the problem. Too much reliance on old ways & not being adaptable to change. They have stuff there, just won't utilize it.

They'll see where this will get them. Being totally reliant on a specific industry like this never turns out good when you're out all to yourself & isolated like E KY is. Coal WILL go away, sooner rather than later. When exactly no one knows, but its definitely downhill from here & won't be around forever like many around here think it will be. I'm sure all those booming steel towns of the past probably thought the same thing.

Check out Gary, Indiana sometime. BBC - Newsnight: Gary, Indiana: Unbroken spirit amid the ruins of the 20th Century That's your future if you all don't get it in gear (in the video just replace the blacks with whites, then replace the crumbling buildings on vacant streets with old single wide trailers on mountains with their tops blown off).

[one_love_nas]

I thought missouri be up there,east st.louis is pretty rundown and a downhill community,but then again only place Ive been to in missouri was STL so I guess overall I couldnt judge missouri the state

[DeoGratias]

Originally Posted by one_love_nas

I thought missouri be up there,east st.louis is pretty rundown and a downhill community,but then again only place Ive been to in missouri was STL so I guess overall I couldnt judge missouri the state

East St. Louis is located in the State of Illinois.

[one_love_nas]

Originally Posted by DeoGratias

East St. Louis is located in the State of Illinois.

ur right dang always get those two st.louis confused,meant st.louis missouri goodfellow-Wells neighborhood all boarded up..never seen east st.louis in real life but its got a bad rep

[kentuckydad95]

The Appy region seems to be in a weird time warp where nothing changes. I have never been there and the thing is, I will probably never go there. There just doesn't seem to be any reason why I should even travel there. I find that sad.

[KerryB]

Originally Posted by kentuckydad95

The Appy region seems to be in a weird time warp where nothing changes. I have never been there and the thing is, I will probably never go there. There just doesn't seem to be any reason why I should even travel there. I find that sad.

Well, I can tell you that I grew up there & have since moved around from everywhere from Texas to up/down the east coast (and travel a lot too), so I think I have a pretty good sense of places. I try to get back often since my parents & other family members are still in the area.

What I've noticed is that E KY was a MUCH better place to live 20 years ago than it is now & its definitely regressing. Industry is stagnant & losing jobs, unemployment is sky high, druggies & the pill poppers are everywhere, etc.

And people also have to keep in mind that A LOT of crimes & messed up stuff like this never get reported or heard about because of the nature of how things work & the low population/isolation. Hell, we didnt hear about that census worker hanging until like a month after it happened, and I think that was just by chance.

Point is, I probably wouldn't go back at all if it wasn't for family. Not trying to dog on the place, but why would anyone?? There are some really nice & caring people in the area though, but that doesnt help with these types of problems usually. That doesn't mean I want it to fail, but its one of those things I've learned that will probably never change because of people's attitudes, the lack of education/diversity & just the way things are ran in places like this. I'd imagine that's probably the state's attitude towards the place as well.

I'm lucky that I was able to get out & was so determined to do so. I have many friends & family who say the same things about themselves (wanting to leave & have a better life), but they never are able to make it happen because of finances, lack of education or job experience, or have just become institutionalized from being there so long & are afraid to. Its all a lot of people know. Sucks, but its their life.

[censusdata]

I think any region that willingly destroys its landscape so other people can have cheaper energy costs has issues. Mountain top removal isn't being done for Eastern Kentucky - they could be energy sufficient with a couple of wind farms. They willingly accept poisoned water, higher cancer rates, many deaths from coal truck accidents, and the mars like landscape left after mountain top removal so people that make fun of E KY can have cheap power.

Honestly there are sometimes I seriously consider moving to a state where the natural landscape is cherished rather than despised. I have actually read comments on news articles where E KYians call them "useless mountains" that are good for nothing but mining. I can't fathom such comments being made about the Black Hills of SD or Rocky Mountains in CO.

[censusdata]

I have never seen a state with so many uneeded pork projects being built while needed infrastructure needs go ignored.

Lexington just spend $1 million dollars replaced perfectly fine traffic signals - for the same amount they could have widened the heavily congested Harrodsburg Rd to 6 lanes from Lane Allen Road to New Circle.

[Wing Feathers]

Originally Posted by censusdata

I have never seen a state with so many uneeded pork projects being built while needed infrastructure needs go ignored.

The only logical explanation is that people here love corruption (judging by the number of Jack Conway lawn signs). Steal from the working class & give it to fat politicians... I never knew that was something to aspire to. I guess it's the old southern way?