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I live in West Virginia where our coal industry has been completely decimated by the Obama administration and the EPA"s war on coal. WV lost over 11,000 jobs in the past two years, not just in the coal industry but due to the trickle down effect. It goes well beyond the actual coal miners. There are people in the support industries like transportation, logistics, equipment maintenance, etc....and then the further trickling down to local businesses that these employees patronize like restaurants, stores, movie theaters, etc. When a miner is laid off because of Obama, he won't be able to afford to get his roof replaced, which means the roofer also isn't getting paid. The Democrats only answer is that these people should move away even though they have generations of family roots here and their entire families are here (there are no other viable economic options in most of West Virginia except coal and natural gas....more on gas later), and then get retrained for new jobs just because the Democrats are against their original industry. I personally know many people whose livelihoods are threatened by the Obama EPA's war on coal, a war every Democrat candidate has pledged to continue.
They say its because of cheaper natural gas, but Democrats hate natural gas too. New York State already banned all natural gas drilling, as did Maryland under the governorship of Democrat presidential candidate Martin O'Malley. There are a lot of natural gas reserves in Western Maryland but the state cannot benefit from it, and the rural areas can't, because the Democrat O'Malley refuses to allow any kind of drilling.
Now Bernie Sanders, O'Malley, and Hillary have all pledged to make America's energy ALL come from renewable sources meaning every coal mine, natural gas drill site, natural gas or coal fired power plant, and every oil refinery will be shut down. The oil and gas industry also employs a lot of people and is important in many states like Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alaska, North Dakota, etc. That is another entire industry Sanders wants to shut down.
Lastly there is the call for a single payer health care system. Aside from the fact that I do NOT trust government with my health care and that government is always less efficient than private industry, and aside from the massive tax increases this would require, would the insurance industry also employs millions of American workers who support their families on these incomes. If Bernie pushes through a single payer system, that means every single private insurance company will be shut down and millions of people will be unemployed. Do the Democrats expect all of these people to either go on unemployment despite their mortagages, etc or uproot their families to new areas that MAYBE have jobs?
Socialist medicine will also cost many health care jobs. Many hospitals and clinics have cut staff and many hospitals, especially in rural America, have been forced to close as a direct result of Obamacare. If Sanders' socialist vision is carried out, this will only be compounded many times.
I personally do NOT like Donald Trump's style and hope he is not the GOP nominee, but I will vote for him if he is, because even he is better than any of the Democrats. Hillary will be a continuation of the Obama vision. O'Malley and Sanders are even worse. The thought of a Sanders presidency terrifies me to the core.
I will give it a shot. Absolutely I care. And I dont really hate any professions per se...well meth dealer maybe. I could probably make a good argument there....and im not fond of lawyers.....but lets talk about your particular example.
Its a benefit vs risk vs reward thing. And I have a whole bunch of things I need to balance out.
The employees losing their jobs is rough on their family, but also damages the economy....however coal mining releases radioactive(tiny) and air pollution. This does both obvious and agreed upon damage. Additionally it accelerates global warming (please lets not argue that here folks, its done to death on a weekly basis), But I believe that global warming will have technological solutions that will be available more cost efficiently later, so its not a large factor.
On the other hand, ramping up solar and wind is expensive-especially load balancing, and nuclear...gah. Best source of power, and we're failing to make more!
BUT....that technology statement...thats the kicker that pushes the reason why I think its better to happen now. One way or another coal mining is going to be ended technologically. And doing it early in the job loss curve I think is coming....well...better for everyone now rather then later for a small subset. half a dozen fusion research groups are making regular progress. coal is doomed. Do we kill it off slow and peaceful through alternative energies at a cost (that cost is rapidly falling btw), or do we wait for it to occur in the midst of more jobs loss, and rapidly?
And...what are the odds of all of this? I make a best guess on available data. In the end its probably slightly more accurate then spinning a bottle, but hey....better then nothing.
Oh and as for Obama.....really he hasnt done much about coal at all, he hasnt had to. The numbers and data on natural gas pretty much explain whats going on.
Those stinking liberals also hated propeller planes and decimated the industry. They hated the telegram, and decimated the industry. They hated horses, and decimated the industry. Now we have jet planes, cell phones and cars. Did they for one second think about those jobs in the industries they decimated?
Those stinking liberals also hated propeller planes and decimated the industry. They hated the telegram, and decimated the industry. They hated horses, and decimated the industry. Now we have jet planes, cell phones and cars. Did they for one second think about those jobs in the industries they decimated?
Those industries died off because of consumer preference, not government regulation.
I just woke up, no coffee yet, but I'll give it a shot too. Sorry for the brevity or rambling, whichever occurs....
Coal Jobs: America needs power from some source. Coal jobs went away, natural jobs came. If a politician pledges to make us independent of non-renewables, they are not going to succeed. We need power and energy. If they were to succeed, which they won't, it would require jobs in other sectors. In that imaginairy world, it would take a LOT of workers to make solar panels and windmills to meet that goal. LOL.
As for the healthcare industry: Whether you are for single payer system or not, it looks to me like OP is defending jobs that don't add any productivity, just cost to our system. (That of the insurance middle-man). These people, skimming off the top are one of the main reasons why the US healthcare system is (factually) the worst in the developed world. Highest cost, and near lowest efficacy. I don't know, but defending jobs that don't add productivity doesn't sound like a conservative virtue. I state again: Doesn't matter if you are for or against universal or single payer system. What you ARE defending, and the reasons you give, are not a solution.
In general, I think both parties or sides have problems, lots of problems. I think they are not interested in real solutions, they are interested in themselves and staying in office. They do that by padding the right palms. BOTH SIDES HERE!!!!
I would say the cost of clean air is not a lot of jobs. It may cost us more in power price. But the power still needs to be made, and now so do the scrubbers. It may create jobs. And some would argue that cleaner air has a lower cost over time, in the form of higher usage of renewables (cheaper in the long run), less negative effects on societal health, and forced efficiency, to name a few. Some of that is BS, but there is some truth in there too. Just like the idea that imposing these restrictions will be the demise of the USA, some truth, some BS. The answer in almost all cases is balance.
And at the end of the day, all this "liberal vs conservative" stuff: Look at what they do, not what they say. both parties have had both houses and the white house in the past decade, and neither of them have ACTED very differently than the other. It's all rhetoric.
Those industries died off because of consumer preference, not government regulation.
Think he was being sarcastic, making the point that jobs did not get lost, they moved along with markets and preferences. A very good, concise ansewr to the OP.
Those industries died off because of consumer preference, not government regulation.
Exactly. Consumer preference is clean renewable energy, from free sources like solar and wind. Those are currently expensive alternatives but as China is showing by manufacturing a mind-blowing number of solar cells, there are economies of scale. Certain European countries are already a decade ahead of the U.S. in terms of energy production, particularly as a percentage of national daily usage. We will end up with less pollution, higher paying jobs, and a boost to the economy through improved technology and products.
The oil industry is next, and then we won't have to bow to our foreign aggressors and protagonists.
As for OP's question, it is natural to focus on what is closest to you. Industries die and whole industrial/manufacturing towns disappear. We've seen it many times before. Those jobs don't disappear though. The market evolves, and new opportunities appear. See: Silicon Valley. With the drive, entrepreneurship and ingenuity of this country, it can continue to succeed despite the modernization of our era. Given our cheaper foreign competitors are beginning to show signs or wear and tear, I expect many manufacturing jobs to start returning. I smell the faintest whiff of an approaching boom cycle.
FWIW I don't hate the coal or oil industry. I think that's a silly notion. No-one hates industries. They hate certain companies that would rather pay the small fines levied than find a solution to not polluting the air, rivers, or protecting their employees from harmful health effects. Show me a responsible oil or coal company with a great safety record and high employee appreciation, and I will sing their praises as I would with any other company "doing it right". The oil and coal industries were and to a lesser degree still are necessary pollutants. Our thirst for energy, and cheap cost demands, means we can't yet do without them.
Think he was being sarcastic, making the point that jobs did not get lost, they moved along with markets and preferences. A very good, concise ansewr to the OP.
so like that poster, you think markets and preferences should be dictated by a relative handful of bureaucrats and lawmakers and not educated consumers.
Not a very good answer at all.
No, they don't care. They'll blame those losses on Republicans.
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