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re: Why is Appalachia so poor and decrepit
Posted on 9/23/25 at 5:20 pm to ClemsonKitten
Posted on 9/23/25 at 5:20 pm to ClemsonKitten
quote:
Why is Appalachia so poor
By being neutral in the War of Northern Aggression. Lincoln was born and raised there and had he not gotten shot, Kentucky's valuable resources would not have been stolen after the war. Mountain folk to not own the land where they live. That is owned by a handful of East Coast families who reap the wealth of the land.
0
Posted on 9/23/25 at 5:26 pm to FightinTigersDammit
quote:
We've known a lot of stuff for 50+ years, but haven't done anything about it.
Those in power need dependent people; it greatly enhances their control...
Posted on 9/23/25 at 5:46 pm to ClemsonKitten
Damn Yankees
Posted on 9/23/25 at 5:50 pm to RogerTheShrubber
quote:
See Texas or Alaska
fair, but even with oil you still have louisiana, venezuela, pre-revolution iran
historically theres been a negative correlation between the presence of natural resources in an area and the economic outcomes of the local population
This post was edited on 9/23/25 at 5:54 pm
Posted on 9/23/25 at 5:52 pm to ClemsonKitten
poor soils -> poor food -> poor nutrition -> poor health -> poor human performance . multiplied over a dz or so generations
Posted on 9/23/25 at 5:56 pm to ClemsonKitten
My daughter lives in Morgantown and on my last visit up there I took a drive through rural WV (Preston/Monongalia/Marion/Wetzel counties). I've never seen so many broken down vehicles and shoddy "houses" and pure poverty. It was like a third-world country.
Posted on 9/23/25 at 6:17 pm to Joshjrn
quote:
Historically, people lived places they could work, whether for sustenance or pay. Historically, when either/both of those dried up, they moved. With the rise of the modern welfare state, the pressure to do so has disappeared. Now, people live places with practically no capacity to work either for sustenance or pay, simply because that's where they were born. Those places have, and will always, display abject poverty.
This.
Posted on 9/23/25 at 7:17 pm to WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot
quote:
What the frick is a "20 piece Caniac meal"?
quote:Checks out.
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot
I don’t Cane’s, mea culpa.
Posted on 9/23/25 at 7:28 pm to ClemsonKitten
People with good genetics have steadily moved out over a long period of time. People talk about economic development and education when it comes to places like this but that’s not really the answer.
Posted on 9/23/25 at 7:36 pm to ClemsonKitten
Coal and steel mines drying up has a lot to do with it. That was their livelihood.
Posted on 9/23/25 at 7:44 pm to Knocksville
quote:
From someone who has seen it up close, not all of Appalachia has the crazy issues that are often seen. Only the counties and small towns with corrupt politicians, commissioners, mayors and lawmen who have lined their own pockets, and local physicians and nurse practitioners who have fed these folks pills for 30-40 years. Also those whose employment has been pretty well ravaged.
I went to one of the smallest high schools in the whole state of Tennessee and grew up in one of the most remote hollers in the northeastern end of the state. There were elder folks without electricity, running water and still using outhouses up until I was in high school in the 90s. That all being said, most of the kids at my school, myself included, have gone on to great things - because most parents and folks could still live at home and get to decent work within an hour or so, and we had resources at home even when our local education systems may have not.
I can take a two hour drive through some of the hollers and rural mountain communities from Western North Carolina through Northeast Tennessee into Southwest Virginia and southeast Kentucky and it’s night and day difference. In North Carolina, you can live somewhere remote and be in Asheville or Boone or Morganton or Hendersonville to work in a pretty decent amount of time. In Northeast Tennessee, same with the Tri-Cities or Greeneville, the Smokies or Knoxville.
In Kentucky, it’s a damn haul to get from a holler to somewhere with decent work that isn’t educational or medical related. Same with Southwest Virginia or WVa
Good post.
My family is from Appalachia (Western PA) and it's a lot like your situation. You can live in a rural area but drive 20-30 minutes and be somewhere like Pittsburgh, Cranberry, Butler(my family's home) Washington, etc. And that portion of Appalachia isn't as bad off as SE KY, most of WV, SW VA, etc.but you still see some abject poverty scattered about in the gulleys.
This post was edited on 9/23/25 at 7:45 pm
Posted on 9/23/25 at 7:47 pm to Dr RC
quote:
That's not what I said. I said cheaper, more efficient, and cleaner tech is replacing coal. It's not a war. It's just the world moving on.
Neither was the War on Drugs, but we still called it that. Are you that infantile?
Posted on 9/23/25 at 7:51 pm to LSUA 75
quote:
Drive up Hwy 71,Montgomery to Coushatta.
Posted on 9/23/25 at 7:51 pm to kywildcatfanone
Scotch Irish....
Posted on 9/23/25 at 8:00 pm to moontigr
quote:
My daughter lives in Morgantown and on my last visit up there I took a drive through rural WV (Preston/Monongalia/Marion/Wetzel counties). I've never seen so many broken down vehicles and shoddy "houses" and pure poverty. It was like a third-world country
Truth, unfortunately.
Go a little further south in Nicholas, Braxton and Faytte Counties and it's the same way.
Nick Saban is from Marion County.
Posted on 9/23/25 at 8:09 pm to Gifman
quote:
Neither was the War on Drugs, but we still called it that.
Let's be clear the most effective shot in the "war on coal" was the shale oil boom and the resulting price drop on NG. Combined cycle gas plants are cheaper and quicker to build, have lower land requirements, and lower maintenance costs. This, with lower gas prices, makes electricity from those plants cheaper than coal plants. This does not count gas peaking, but that is a different use case.
Posted on 9/23/25 at 8:24 pm to Joshjrn
quote:
With the rise of the modern welfare state, the pressure to do so has disappeared. Now, people live places with practically no capacity to work either for sustenance or pay, simply because that's where they were born. Those places have, and will always, display abject poverty.
Good description if the MS Delta.
Posted on 9/23/25 at 8:32 pm to moontigr
quote:
My daughter lives in Morgantown and on my last visit up there I took a drive through rural WV (Preston/Monongalia/Marion/Wetzel counties). I've never seen so many broken down vehicles and shoddy "houses" and pure poverty. It was like a third-world country.
What's scary is that's not the worst part of WV by far. I partially grew up in Fairmont, just outside of Morgantown. Morgantown itself is nice and growing. Fairmont is stagnant but not terrible. But yes you get to places like Monongah and Preston and it's a lot of poverty.
It's sad because there is lot of pride if you're from WV. But there's just no economic opportunities.
There's a reason why WVU has a huge alumni network in Pittsburgh and Charlotte. Heck there's probably more WVU alumni in Pittsburgh and Charlotte than in West Virginia.
A lot of people from WV would love to move back, but simply can't until they retire. That's where WV's future probably is economically. Retirement (and the industry, especially medical, around that) as well as tourism.
It's truly a beautiful state, and I'm glad most people bypass WV for Western NC or Eastern TN. Maybe if I retire, WV will still be affordable long after Western NC and Eastern TN become unaffordable.
There are options in WV, but mostly in the north. Morgantown is a good place to live. The northern panhandle, you can commute to Pittsburgh. The eastern panhandle, you can commute to DC.
The central and southern parts of the state though are just too isolated. The main thing the keeps Eastern TN and Western NC from being Central and Southern WV or Eastern KY is the proximity to Charlotte, Asheville, Greenville, Knoxville and the Tri-Cities.
If I did move back to WV, as much as I would prefer the southern part (where you have the bigger mountains, great whitewater rafting and the New River Gorge NP), it would probably have to be in Morgantown, the northern panhandle to commute to Pittsburgh or the eastern panhandle to commute to DC. And the northern part of the state is a little too cold for my liking.
If I did retire in WV, it would be around Lewisburg/White Sulphur Springs. I've always genuinely enjoyed that area, the weather is more moderate than the northern part of the state, you're only a few hours from Charlotte and you can easily get to part of VA (including Blacksburg and Roanoke) and NC.
This post was edited on 9/23/25 at 8:35 pm
Posted on 9/23/25 at 8:33 pm to Dr RC
quote:
That's a horseshite political talking point.
Kind of like white supremacy being portrayed as the biggest threat in the U.S. and also the false idea that black people face a disproportionate amount of “hunting” from the police?
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