History of Coal Mining in West Virginia

A hypothetical reality, somewhat oxymoronic,perhaps, but effective: Catch a "Greyhound" to where to do what? All I know is mining coal, plus I owe my soul to the company store.

Selah,

Bro. James

 

What is oxymoronic about the assertion? An oxymoron is a statement, word or phrase containing two or more mutually exclusive comments, like "Congressional Ethics," "Jumbo Shrimp, or "Holy drunkenness."

Perhaps you mean "Sophomoric," as in people thinking the conditions of the 1930s still exist.

Getting on a bus, train, plane, or your own 1980 GMC pickumup truck and leaving is not oxymorongik

Please fast forward to the 21st century. There are no more company stores. There are no more company houses. Miners are paid in real money. The military is hiring.

Go where to do what?

1. My cousin joined the military, got his electronics training, served his hitch, and has made a good living for 35 years fixing stuff for a big company.

2. I joined the military, liked it, stayed in for 20, and came out with a pension, medical care, a B.A., and an M.S., and used the GI Bill to get an M.A.R. That is on top of excellent training which I used when I first retired.

3. Others moveed to a small city, got a "Joe" job at McDs, and scraped by while they attended a secular tech school like ITT and now have a life.

4. Others went to a community college and got their RN, or Lab Tech, or X-ray Tech, etc.

Like I keep saying, the road runs in all directions. No one is forced to stay in Appalachia.

Who will mine the coal if all of them leave? Probably the same people who are doing all of the other jobs that many young Americans will no longer lower themselves to do, like cleaning toilets in a motel. I am sure that there are people willing to work for 75000 per year.

 

They are here to do jobs that most Americans don't want, and instead of mouthing off and wasting time, they work. I have two friends with small contracting firms who ONLY hire Mexicans, and they pay them MORE than they paid white Americans. Why?

1. My friends never have to bail them out of the drunk tank on Monday AM.
2. They don't complain.
3. They work very hard.
4. They are well-mannered and don't mouth off at their boss all the time (and if they did, he would not know it, since they speak mainly Spanish).

The same goes for the local chicken plant. A lot of the spoiled brat American kids don't want to work where it is cold and smelly.

We have met the enemy, and he is us.

 

They can come here and make about 10 times in a day what they make in Mexico. They can come here and work for a short while and go back there and live well.

 

And then there was Enron. Thousands of people worked their way out of the "mines" and HAD good jobs, 401's and pensions. All gone--the utopian dream--poof.

What will Kenny say?

Our CinC says social security is a: file filled with IOU's. Now what?

Better stuff some greenbacks in a "king-sized" mattress and buy a big wheel barrow to haul the money to buy a loaf of bread. "A measure of wheat for a penny" "I owe my soul to the company store" is not limited to miners of coal.

Selah,

Bro. James

 

Social Security, from the first, was a kind of intergenerational Ponzi scheme (pyramid). My generation will collect ours, but our kids won't get any.

 

My kids will do OK, don't know yours.

 

Do the math. When my kids are eligible (in 30 years), the fund will have a shortfall of 26% of the entire fund. This information, by the way, is not from some oddball website, but from the Social Security Administration.

The fix, according to the bi-partisan Concord Coalition, is to raise taxes now, cut benefits slightly now, and means test so that well-off people don't get any.

Don't hold your breath.

 

Sounds like we have justification for a new governmental agency: WODA,(pronounced WU-Duh) well off determination agency. Maybe we could save some money and make it part of FEMA.

Mr. Bush, the younger, was correct when he said that Social Security is a file filled with IOU'S. That would be the IOU-Fund

We will probably be O.K. so long as the red ink holds up, also the ink for the money presses--surely the Federal Reserve will approve.

Do the math--any number/0=undefined.

Unless at least three governmental agencies have agreed otherwise.


Selah

Bro. James

[ January 07, 2006, 06:09 AM: Message edited by: Bro. James ]

 

Dr. Bob.

Bravo! These mines that are digging miles into the earth are releasing potential hazards into the air we breathe. I am with you, shut them down.

Ron

 

Can't do that. These mines are making million$ for the owners/stockholders.

Selah,

Bro. James

 

the love of money is the root of all evil.....Jesus of Nazereth

 

Actually, that was Paul

 

Your "plan" would work fine "EXCEPT" for one minor problem.

EPA

Western coal is high in "SULPHUR", (acid rain) it must be mixed with "Eastern coal" which is "low in sulphur" to bring the "emisions" down to "EPA Specs".

Not only that but also, the BTU of Western coal, for the most part, is Lower.

Average,
Western coal=1-2 percent sulphur, 12000-13000 BTU

Eastern coal=1/4 of one percent, 14000-16000 BTU

Those "Scrubbers" (air cleaners) at the power plants are "Very expensive" to maintain, the lower the sulphur, the less expense.

 

Your "plan" would work fine "EXCEPT" for one minor problem.

EPA

Western coal is high in "SULPHUR", (acid rain) it must be mixed with "Eastern coal" which is "low in sulphur" to bring the "emisions" down to "EPA Specs".

Not only that but also, the BTU of Western coal, for the most part, is Lower.

Average,
Western coal=1-2 percent sulphur, 12000-13000 BTU

Eastern coal=1/4 of one percent, 14000-16000 BTU

Those "Scrubbers" (air cleaners) at the power plants are "Very expensive" to maintain, the lower the sulphur, the less expense. </font>[/QUOTE]You are partly correct. Eastern Coal has a lot more BTUs, but it also has a lot more sulphur--I know, a bunch of my cousins were thrown out of work because of KYs high sulpur coal.

 

TRUE, TRUE,....."BUT",

"You can take the boy out of the mountains, but,
"you can't take the mountains out of the boy".

There's "NO PLACE" like "HOME".

 

KY has high sulphur coal, but high according to what standards, certainly not when measure against most "Western coal".

I "think" about 1 percent is the highest I've seen in SE KY, and very few attempted to mine it because of EPA regs.

The "BLUE GEM" seam is only 1/4 of one percent sulphur and 15500 BTU, you can light it with a match, and it will melt a stove, if the "Draft" is left opened.

Needless to say, it sells for top dollar.