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Appalachian Volunteers, War on Poverty, Happy Pappies, Appalachian Regional Commission, Appalachian Group to Save the Land and the People, I Love Mountains, Berea College, Alice Lloyd College, Appalachian Christian Project, Hindman Settlement School, Red Bird Settlement School, Frontier Nursing Service, Pine Mountain Settlement School - and all those are just in Kentucky. Every other Appalachian state could offer similar examples.
Good heavens, even the CCC and the WPA if you want to go back to FDR's day.
Maybe some of these were before your time, but good grief, educate yourself. It's not the liberals who've failed to show compassion or empathy for the working class of Appalachia.
Yet none of those programs have substantively changed the situation in this area. So, it begs the question, why not try something different? Why continue to do the same thing again and again but see no progress and in most cases, actually see worsening conditions. I think this is the thing many of the left do not understand about folks in these rust belts states voting for the GOP/Trump. The left says 'you're voting against your own interests' because they see all of these programs like the ones you mentioned and think that's help.
But real help, substantive help would be seeing if we can promote more industry, more work in these areas. Trying to change policy so companies have incentive to be in these areas instead of moving overseas because our trade policies make it more advantageous to do so. I can see, perfectly, the rationality behind these voters choosing a candidate who wants to address these trade deals - something no previous Democrat or GOP candidate did before. So maybe it will not work but good god man, at least someone is finally willing to try.
It's pretty much the classic give a man to fish versus teaching him to fish allegory playing out.
Because they don't whine, complain, organize or march and besides, no dumbass news reporter knows where to find them.
You must be extremely young. When LBJ began the War on Poverty back in the mid-60s, the mountains were the flavor of the week for reporters, especially those from the east coast cities. The roads were in pretty bad shape back then, but the reporters had no problem finding colorful characters a-settin' on thar front porches and writing all about how these were yesterday's people, etc. Not quite accurate, but reporting it was, and a lot of it.
As for organizing and marching, ever hear of the UMWA? John L. Lewis? Or the Battle of Blair Mountain? Know who the Widow Ollie Combs was, and what she did to stop a strip-miner's bulldozer?
Ever hear of the Battle of King's Mountain, and know who fought in it?
Yet none of those programs have substantively changed the situation in this area. So, it begs the question, why not try something different? Why continue to do the same thing again and again but see no progress and in most cases, actually see worsening conditions. I think this is the thing many of the left do not understand about folks in these rust belts states voting for the GOP/Trump. The left says 'you're voting against your own interests' because they see all of these programs like the ones you mentioned and think that's help.
But real help, substantive help would be seeing if we can promote more industry, more work in these areas. Trying to change policy so companies have incentive to be in these areas instead of moving overseas because our trade policies make it more advantageous to do so. I can see, perfectly, the rationality behind these voters choosing a candidate who wants to address these trade deals - something no previous Democrat or GOP candidate did before. So maybe it will not work but good god man, at least someone is finally willing to try.
It's pretty much the classic give a man to fish versus teaching him to fish allegory playing out.
Wow, you don't think Berea College has made substantial changes?? Not to mention all those others I listed? You might want to come visit.
I don't disagree at all with the idea of promoting industry, etc. That's exactly what the Appalachian Regional Commission does.
Wow, you don't think Berea College has made substantial changes?? Not to mention all those others I listed? You might want to come visit.
I don't disagree at all with the idea of promoting industry, etc. That's exactly what the Appalachian Regional Commission does.
The same ARC Trump wants to end.
Yes Berea College is an interesting and different experiment. A good idea I think but it doesn't change the overall macroeconomics which is driving the extreme poverty in this area. For that to happen, the primary drivers on what is the root cause of the lack of employment must be addressed. Companies will not invest in the area when it is far more attractive and more fiscally sound to do so with our current trade deals which incentive them to move operations overseas. Workers need to be sure our government is not perpetuating and encouraging illegal aliens who come in and undercut the wage system. You cannot have a successful working class unless you address the aforementioned and none of the programs the Democrats have instituted has done anything whatsoever to address the aforementioned.
So while you think it's acceptable to toss government funded crumbs to this area and claim this is "success", I think they deserve more. I think they deserve the ability to at least have the opportunity to create a successful working class. Right now, the trade policies in place are like tying both hands of these states behind their backs and then saying 'okay, now go compete for that prize'. Stop tying their hands and see if they can attract these industries to their area. At least be willing to give them a chance by ensuring the trade policies do not undermine their efforts.
Serious question. Why aren't we complaining about how their communities don't value education? Why don't we expect them to retrain? Why don't we expect them to relocate, in search of work? Why do we sacrifice the water we drink and the very air we breathe so that a few thousand of them might enter the middle class?
If they were turning Appalachia into a war zone akin to 2004 Iraq, we probably would.
You can't pull yourself up by your bootstraps when you are on a flip flop budget.
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