“From the beginning, the coal and timber companies insisted on keeping all, or nearly all, the wealth they produced. They were unwilling to plough more than a tiny part of the money they earned back into schools, libraries, health facilities and other institutions essential to a balanced, pleasant, productive and civilized society. The knowledge and guile of their managers enabled them to corrupt and cozen all too many of the region’s elected public officials and to thwart the legitimate aspirations of the people.” |
"Examining workforce specializations at the county level can shed further light on the relationship between knowledge diversity and economic performance. Based on a comparison with the share of employment made up by these occupations nationally, a full 70 percent of ARC counties have their largest knowledge cluster specialization in the Skilled, semi-skilled labor & machine operation cluster of occupations (see Table 7-4). Distressed and At-Risk counties are about ten percent more likely to have this cluster as their largest specialization, with the general trend reflecting a tendency for counties with higher economic status to have larger portions of their employment in service occupations. In part this tendency serves as evidence of the presence of higher skill and higher wage jobs (e.g., Medical science & health services) in counties of strong economic performance. Above average levels of service employment in these counties also reflect the demand for retail and personal services (e.g., Semi-skilled service) created by higher personal incomes." (p. 78)
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While the coal industry has faulted regulations for their economic collapse, it's important to understand what goes on behind the scenes in the industry. Coal regions are littered with roadside, industry-sponsored billboards decrying regulators for job losses, and the coal industry turns its underground employees into anti-regulation activists by encouraging participation in counter-protests when environmentalists voice their concerns with industry practices.
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Citizens Coal Council
130 Friend Road Washington, PA 15301 Phone: 724.470.3982 |
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