Clay County, Kentucky-18th poorest county in the nation (London: tax, living)

[rnc76]

The median household income list is even worse. 29 KY counties are listed out of 100. That is crazy. I think part of the problem is that there are too many counties, 120 in a state Kentucky's size is way too many. Kentucky should have maybe 40-50 counties and they should be larger in the less populated areas, not smaller which seems to be the case sometimes. Some of those counties are tiny in geography and population. Owsley Co has less than 5,000 people. Mennifee Co less than 7,000. Wolfe and Cumberland have just over 7,000. Each one of those counties having their own school system, sheriff's department, fire service, county government... seems crazy. They are probably all run by corrupt good-ole-boys that make a lot of money off of the status quo. Visiting that region, the poverty is shocking, but it is apparent that there is a select group of very wealthy people as well. Consolidate many of the counties, reduce the government and start over with some new leadership. That may be a start, it really can't get much worse.

[censusdata]

Village Idiot brings up a very non-idiotic point about state universities.

As popular of the notion of a quaint 'college town' is, the state universities in KY that are located in cities and smaller towns are all spurring major growth (UK- Lex, UofL- Lou, NKU- NKY, WKU- BG) while all the ones in small towns are creating very little population or commercial growth (Murray, Morehead).

A couple of thoughts...

1st- maybe all the struggling rural areas should demand that the large research universities (ei UK & U of L) create jobs in THEIR communities, & not just Lexington & Louisville. Probably a huge percent of the jobs and money hat EVERYONE in KY pays to those schools stays in those cities.

2nd- a state university in a fast growing small town like London would bring growth, but I doubt that one in Pikeville, Hazard, etc would do any more than Morehead.

3rd - all the money spent/ given away to OUT OF STATE firms to research I-66, I-74 etc could have been better spent for tax break/ enterprise zones to bring in new businesses. Eastern KY has a VERY low cost of living (housing & utilities) which appeals to factories wanting cheap American labor.

If interstates 'created' jobs, West Virginia would be booming. All of it, except the far eastern tip near DC & Morgantown is losing population and jobs.

[The Village Idiot]

I wanted to resurrect this thread to make a couple of points, and then I'll get off my soapbox. I brought up the subject of a university in southeastern Kentucky not just because it could create jobs and economic growth. It could probably generate at least a little economic growth, but it probably wouldn't be anything spectacular. Anyway, I don't necessarily disagree with your point here:

2nd- a state university in a fast growing small town like London would bring growth, but I doubt that one in Pikeville, Hazard, etc would do any more than Morehead.

However, my main reason for bringing up this idea, which I probably didn't explain in my previous post, is that this would provide more opportunities for education in that region of the state. Education is a major point of emphasis for me. Right now, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education has divided up the state into eight regions. Each of the state universities is responsible for one of these regions, which is its "area of geographic responsibility." Morehead State's region includes counties such as Pike, Floyd, Knott, and Letcher, which really aren't that close to Morehead. Likewise, EKU is responsible for Perry, Leslie, Harlan, Bell, and Knox Counties. Again, these counties are somewhat far from Richmond. I'd like to see another university, even if it's only a branch campus of UK, that could serve at least the nine counties listed above, along with maybe Clay, Breathitt, and Martin Counties. Hazard would probably be the most central location for the university, although it could just be built somewhere along Rt. 80. Of course, in order for this to do much good, the state would have to establish some sort of program to help families be able to pay for tuition, books, etc. However, I think it would be worth the investment. Think about the difference it could make, for instance, if a kid from Harlan or Prestonsburg could earn an Engineering degree from UK in their own backyard. Yes, they might have to move away to find a job, but at least they'd have an opportunity that didn't exist before. Hopefully some sort of research facility could be built in conjunction with the university that would provide at least a few jobs.

So that's all I'm suggesting, really. I could go on and on about education and infrastructure, but I've rambled on long enough so I'll leave it at that.

[Future Trooper]

i just saw a part of kentucky on american idol last week and was very shocked to find that people live in those conditions here trailers are banned in Hamilton County,Indiana-where i live

[dixiegirl7]

Originally Posted by gdude

i just saw a part of kentucky on american idol last week and was very shocked to find that people live in those conditions here trailers are banned in Hamilton County,Indiana-where i live

That was Clay County, where Billy Ray Cyrus grew up. It is very sad how poor those people are and the conditions they live in, but that is not representative of most of Kentucky.

[censusdata]

Originally Posted by dixiegirl7

That was Clay County, where Billy Ray Cyrus grew up. It is very sad how poor those people are and the conditions they live in, but that is not representative of most of Kentucky.

Billy Ray Cyrus is from GREENUP County, not Clay

Flatwoods, Kentucky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[dixiegirl7]

Originally Posted by censusdata

Billy Ray Cyrus is from GREENUP County, not Clay

Flatwoods, Kentucky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He said on the show he was from the county featured and I thought it was Clay. Maybe it wasn't.

[Future Trooper]

does the State government or Federal Government do anything about the situation down there?

[tomocox]

The situation there is not as terrible as someone reading this might fear. While poverty and unemployment is not good, and I don't make light of the situation, there are 120 counties in Kentucky, if we divided other states into as many counties as Kentucky has, I am certain Clay County would not be 18th poorest. Now, that being said, the people living in Clay County choose to be there and be poor. The governmental handouts keep them there. In the 1930's, tens of thousands of poor people from all around depression ravaged Kentucky moved to where jobs were. Just like millions of Hispanics came to America, including Kentucky for jobs. If the government didn't enable poverty, people would move and fill the jobs the millions of illegals are.

[Future Trooper]

do you guys think the economical situation would improve if that new I-66(when it gets built) was to go through that part of the state?