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What are you thoughts on what the Mountain State will be like in thirty years?
Answers can include thoughts on the entire state and/or particular
communities and regions, or any aspect of life in the state. Please keep it nonpolitical.
Last edited by robertbrianbush; 12-13-2013 at 01:18 AM..
Reason: Correct typo
My own opinion... it will be vastly different in some respects.
I believe the High Tech Corridor in North Central will continue to develop at a high rate. I believe the Eastern Panhandle will be even more integrated into the DC/Baltimore area. I believe the Mid and Upper Ohio Valley will once again be an industrial and chemical powerhouse, and Huntington will regain its position as a major player in transportation. And, finally I believe the southern part of the state will continue to drag everyone else down with their political pork maneuvers, and in the final analysis will continue to lag behind the rest of the state in virtually every manner.
West Virginia will continue to be ranked 49 or 50 due to no diversification of its economy. Since the southern counties have no infrastructure,modern highways to begin with, access to tech training, etc. they wil once again lag behind the rest of the state and be labeled the states whipping boy as to why WV is ranked 50 once again. King Coal and Coalfields Expressway will still never be built. The gas/shale boom will have busted by then upstate and all the money extracted from the sales of the gas will go to each corporate headquarters out of state, taking its out of state workers with them as well. Too much stock is being put into this shale booming the only money being spent here is at gas stations and motels. With coal reserves running out and the trickle down effect to other coal related industries. WV will be the worst state in the US economically.
West Virginia will continue to be ranked 49 or 50 due to no diversification of its economy. Since the southern counties have no infrastructure,modern highways to begin with, access to tech training, etc. they wil once again lag behind the rest of the state and be labeled the states whipping boy as to why WV is ranked 50 once again. King Coal and Coalfields Expressway will still never be built. The gas/shale boom will have busted by then upstate and all the money extracted from the sales of the gas will go to each corporate headquarters out of state, taking its out of state workers with them as well. Too much stock is being put into this shale booming the only money being spent here is at gas stations and motels. With coal reserves running out and the trickle down effect to other coal related industries. WV will be the worst state in the US economically.
If our state is ranked last, it will be because politicos shove money into make believe roads in the southern sector hoping to create some minimum wage tourism jobs. The southern counties don't have a population that wants to be educated, so shoving money at them for that purpose would be like p*ssing it down the drain. Check out the graduation rate at Bluefield State. Companies wouldn't be investing billions in infrastructure for oil and gas if they believed that would be a flash in the pan. Those developments will fuel positive economies in the northern part of the state and the Ohio Valley for decades to come. The percentage of proceeds that can be kept in state will largely be predicated on whether or not the southern politicos can be bought off by the big money folks, as is usually the case.
If our state is ranked last, it will be because politicos shove money into make believe roads in the southern sector hoping to create some minimum wage tourism jobs. The southern counties don't have a population that wants to be educated, so shoving money at them for that purpose would be like p*ssing it down the drain. Check out the graduation rate at Bluefield State. Companies wouldn't be investing billions in infrastructure for oil and gas if they believed that would be a flash in the pan. Those developments will fuel positive economies in the northern part of the state and the Ohio Valley for decades to come. The percentage of proceeds that can be kept in state will largely be predicated on whether or not the southern politicos can be bought off by the big money folks, as is usually the case.
That's the point if nothing is invested in the southern counties how are they ever going or grow. Their cant be growth with out infrastructure, most of the highways are being built with coal synergy saving the tax payers millions of dollars.
I don't want to hear about the Southern part of the state is pulling the rest of the state down when all the coal that was mined out of here for over 100 years and nothing put back in. The rest of the state of has interstates, four lane highways, basic water needs, sewage, etc. it's time for for Southern WV to be put on par with the rest of this state since the coal mined here powered the state. The Southern part of the state has been neglected while Northern WV got interstates, highways, basic infrastructure.
All the gas and shale companies are goin to do is drill wells thruout the Ohio valley, build there cracker in Pa, hire out of state gas worker. The only money spent by many of these companies are going to gas stations, motels, rv parks, bars, and sent back home to Texas and Oklahoma. The gas/shale boom is the biggest fraud in the state of West Virginian's history when it comes to extractionism of shale gas. West Virginia was promised this and that when it came to the shale boom but as usual all the money is being shipped out of state. All of y'all posters up North are pushing this Shale Boom when e neutrally it's goin to bust and the money made from it is goin out of state and into the pockets of your corrupt officials( corruption is not just in the southern part state either).
What the hell does the graduation rate of Bluefield State have to do with anything, Concord University is 14 miles up the road. Bluefield State doesn't even have a dorm for it students to go to, it is a commuter college. The Southern Counties don't have sufficient access to college wih the average commute roughly around 45-60 min to a college campus.
The southern part of the state will not be your or whoevers whipping boy and get the blame cause the rest of the state can't get there **** together. WV is ranked 49 or 50 in almost every statistical category. That's a statewide issue, even Morgantown has the highest poverty rate in the state.. If nothing is done in the southern part of the state then I don't want to hear no more crying and whining that were holding this state back. It's time to build highways, put coal synergy projects to use(Virginia and KY seems to not have problems getting there road builds thru synergy), build proper infrastructure and get proper training and educational opportunities for it people.
That's the point if nothing is invested in the southern counties how are they ever going or grow. Their cant be growth with out infrastructure, most of the highways are being built with coal synergy saving the tax payers millions of dollars.
I don't want to hear about the Southern part of the state is pulling the rest of the state down when all the coal that was mined out of here for over 100 years and nothing put back in. The rest of the state of has interstates, four lane highways, basic water needs, sewage, etc. it's time for for Southern WV to be put on par with the rest of this state since the coal mined here powered the state. The Southern part of the state has been neglected while Northern WV got interstates, highways, basic infrastructure.
All the gas and shale companies are goin to do is drill wells thruout the Ohio valley, build there cracker in Pa, hire out of state gas worker. The only money spent by many of these companies are going to gas stations, motels, rv parks, bars, and sent back home to Texas and Oklahoma. The gas/shale boom is the biggest fraud in the state of West Virginian's history when it comes to extractionism of shale gas. West Virginia was promised this and that when it came to the shale boom but as usual all the money is being shipped out of state. All of y'all posters up North are pushing this Shale Boom when e neutrally it's goin to bust and the money made from it is goin out of state and into the pockets of your corrupt officials( corruption is not just in the southern part state either).
What the hell does the graduation rate of Bluefield State have to do with anything, Concord University is 14 miles up the road. Bluefield State doesn't even have a dorm for it students to go to, it is a commuter college. The Southern Counties don't have sufficient access to college wih the average commute roughly around 45-60 min to a college campus.
The southern part of the state will not be your or whoevers whipping boy and get the blame cause the rest of the state can't get there **** together. WV is ranked 49 or 50 in almost every statistical category. That's a statewide issue, even Morgantown has the highest poverty rate in the state.. If nothing is done in the southern part of the state then I don't want to hear no more crying and whining that were holding this state back. It's time to build highways, put coal synergy projects to use(Virginia and KY seems to not have problems getting there road builds thru synergy), build proper infrastructure and get proper training and educational opportunities for it people.
First of all, the rest of the state did not mine the coal in the southern sector. Most of the state has coal which has been mined too. Inhibiting growth in proven areas of demand to build pie in the sky projects in the southern tier is counter productive. As you pointed out, there are two colleges in the Bluefield area that are supported by state funding. While we do seem to have a teachers college every two interstate exits in our state, who else has 2 just 14 miles apart? Neither one of them sets the world on fire in terms of local participation. That area will have to turn itself around. Depending on everyone else to do it for them will not have the desired effect. All the educational opportunities in the world will not benefit people who have little respect for education.
By the way, Morgantown is easily among the most prosperous parts of the state. The statistics you refer to include 30,000 college students, many of whom work minimum wage jobs and are not reflective of the prosperity of our region's permanent population, which has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the Nation.
What are you thoughts on what the Mountain State will be like in thirty years?
Answers can include thoughts on the entire state and/or particular
communities and regions, or any aspect of life in the state. Please keep it nonpolitical.
Dead last in everything...
Despite their current population dying off, they'll continue to be a place for people in my current generation to retire out of nostalgia. The Eastern Panhandle will thrive due to heavy-rail to DC. Morgantown will continue to thrive because of the federally subsidized university. Charleston will experience a renewal in its core due to my generation's hipsters wanting to live in an urban core, but the rest of the state will suffer because of a net loss of population and industry. The billboards will continue to blame whichever democrat is currently president however.
Despite their current population dying off, they'll continue to be a place for people in my current generation to retire out of nostalgia. The Eastern Panhandle will thrive due to heavy-rail to DC. Morgantown will continue to thrive because of the federally subsidized university. Charleston will experience a renewal in its core due to my generation's hipsters wanting to live in an urban core, but the rest of the state will suffer because of a net loss of population and industry. The billboards will continue to blame whichever democrat is currently president however.
You're sort of overlooking the obvious here. Oil and gas developments hold great promise, especially for the northern part of the state. You think Charleston will be popular with hipsters, huh? Interesting. What special aspect of Charleston do you believe will make that happen?
I think the areas outside of WV with higher home values will continue to encroach. Retirees with higher incomes from these area will continue to buy up properties, making it more difficult for native West Virginians to compete.
I look at how New Jersey folk aRe driving out native Delawareans like me making me want to move to WV!
I think the areas outside of WV with higher home values will continue to encroach. Retirees with higher incomes from these area will continue to buy up properties, making it more difficult for native West Virginians to compete.
I look at how New Jersey folk aRe driving out native Delawareans like me making me want to move to WV!
There is no question that much of the growth potential of the northern and eastern areas is driven by attempts to escape problems associated with being in high population areas. There is nothing to indicate that will change any time soon.
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