The downfall of coal has lead to an unprecedented economic collapse in Eastern Kentucky. Just wondering if anyone has any real ideas to help this struggling region of our state. The only thing I can think of is to legalize pot exclusively in that part of the state and use the tax money generated from pot sales to build a viable infrastructure. Any other ideas?
Solutions to help Eastern Kentucky
- Thread starter BigSexyCat
- Start date
There is no way to help it as a whole. Even if some big businesses wanted to come into certain areas, I'm sure there would be some crooked big fish in a small pond guy that would try to hinder it and make sure nothing ever changes from what it's been like the past 50 years.
The good ole boy system really hinders that place as well. But there is essentially never any reason to go there. It's sad and has no opportunities.
The good ole boy system really hinders that place as well. But there is essentially never any reason to go there. It's sad and has no opportunities.
I don't think I think I could ever leave, but it's sad driving down the road and looking at all these empty building that used to be businesses. I have about a 20 minute drive on a 2 lane road to work to Pikeville and bet I could count 30+ different places that have shut down over the last few years.
Everyone leaves and moves to economically habitable regions.
Left KY several years ago and was the best decision I ever made. Take out a few pockets of the state and there are no real opportunities to be really successful. Most of my family and friends are stuck in dead end jobs making ends meet with no real chance to advance to high paying jobs. Only folks I know who have done well are doctors or had family businesses that are well known and have been able to sustain over the years. Note: I know there are a lot of wealthy and/or successful people in KY. I am talking about your average Joe in the state.
Eastern KY literally is in the abyss and I doubt it ever gets out unless there is a complete turnaround in the coal industry. A lot of good people who live there, but most do not have the will to leave and find a better life elsewhere.
Eastern KY literally is in the abyss and I doubt it ever gets out unless there is a complete turnaround in the coal industry. A lot of good people who live there, but most do not have the will to leave and find a better life elsewhere.
This is the problem. I look back at my upbringing in the mountains fondly. That said, I, nor anyone else I know who left, would ever go back. Driving through there just makes me sad.
I have no idea what you could do to plant any sort of economic hope back into the area. Education is the starting point for all of these issues (I'd argue the same for ghettos), but poverty begets poverty. It takes something revolutionary to turn these areas around.
Kind of ironic, they cling to hope that coal will bounce back, when big coal is the thing that bastardized the region in the first place.
Agreed. EKY population will expand or decline by itself, just like anywhere else. I envision much more consolidation coming over the next decade for the 30 counties in the coal field.
Potential bright spots: Distilling and brewing. Alltech broke ground over the summer on a new operation in Pikeville. Middlesboro had a brewery of its own around the turn of the 20th century. Some 'feelers' have been submitted concerning restarting a brewery under the old name, but bureaucracy and politics are the main show-stoppers.
Last edited:
If those folks can just hold on for another couple hundred years, when every other square mile of the contiguous United States has been grossly over-developed, then that beautiful, untamed wilderness might actually be worth something. Patience is a virtue.
Good luck with that. The baptist contention is strong in EKY, and they think booze is the devil. Which is pretty hypocritical given most of them are overweight (see deadly sin: gluttony) and see doctors who used to run pill mills.
Being from there, I think the first step is to vastly improve the internet/wifi and cellular phone aspects of it. In this day and age, you will never have a thriving region that you can't get cell service in many spots and there is no high speed internet.
Need to lay all the underground cables that support wifi etc, and fund a school that focused on tech. Give it a while for the education gap to close a bit, and then push for crazy tax breaks to get tech businesses to establish a presence there. I think of tech because I think of that as industry that isn't really location based, or doesn't have to be in any set type of location to function.
Maybe try and make it a Silicon Valley East type situation. In the midst of that focus on bringing up the artisan crafts of the region food/music/woodworks etc. So that when it came time to lure a company as mentioned you would have some allure to the creative employees coming.
I guess kind of a mix of Silicon Valley and Asheville NC (I think that's the one with the arts/crafts/furniture reputation).
Who knows if that would work. But I"m pretty confident that nothing will work until the proper infrastructure is laid with regards to communicating like the outside world (internet/wifi/cell).
Need to lay all the underground cables that support wifi etc, and fund a school that focused on tech. Give it a while for the education gap to close a bit, and then push for crazy tax breaks to get tech businesses to establish a presence there. I think of tech because I think of that as industry that isn't really location based, or doesn't have to be in any set type of location to function.
Maybe try and make it a Silicon Valley East type situation. In the midst of that focus on bringing up the artisan crafts of the region food/music/woodworks etc. So that when it came time to lure a company as mentioned you would have some allure to the creative employees coming.
I guess kind of a mix of Silicon Valley and Asheville NC (I think that's the one with the arts/crafts/furniture reputation).
Who knows if that would work. But I"m pretty confident that nothing will work until the proper infrastructure is laid with regards to communicating like the outside world (internet/wifi/cell).
Maybe even offer incentives for people to move out and stay out.
Or send them to a refugee camp.
..another wack *** joke about abandoning or otherwise destroying EKY.
Great contribution! God damn the paddock is turning to ****.
Great contribution! God damn the paddock is turning to ****.
I know, I have family there. These EKY threads usually come up every 6 months or so.
Put no more money onto it. We do *just* enough to keep them hanging on.
Eventually turn it into parklands.
Eventually turn it into parklands.
I worked with a guy from Hindman who had no love for his old home. He described it as unchangeable.
He still owned the family home place but would only go for the day, never staying overnight. It seemed odd so I asked why. He said night would never fall on him, there, again. Dude was serious.
He still owned the family home place but would only go for the day, never staying overnight. It seemed odd so I asked why. He said night would never fall on him, there, again. Dude was serious.
Exactly. Big coal came in, raped the land, filled people with pride for working slave hours for poverty rates, got subsidized for doing it and then left. And the people beg for them back.
In human terms, here is the coal industry:
Woman is raped
Woman pays to be raped
Woman is proud of being raped
Woman is given std
Woman's boobs are taken
Woman believes rapist is the best thing to ever happen to her and begs to have them back
Was that too much?
Birth control, lots and lot of birth control and I'm not really joking. Quit bringing children into an already impoverished situation. Improve the tech and physical infrastructure. It's never going be Silicon Valley East. Lexington / Louisville / Cincy already struggle there. However, make it easier for businesses to do business there, even small business. Hell, it could become an etsy haven with all the crafts and things the women over there do, but the infrastructure isn't really there to support it.
"Unprecedented economic collapse"? EKY has always been 'economically distressed'. Even at the peak of coal production in the Appalachians in the late 80's, or the peak of coal employment in the late 40's, EKY suffered from various economic (and other) challenges. Coal was never the answer for EKY development, just a provider of false hope, especially now that most of the economically viable seams tapped/stripped.
Best long term prospects for EKY are tourism, mary jane, agribusiness research and manufacturing, data processing centers, among others.
Best long term prospects for EKY are tourism, mary jane, agribusiness research and manufacturing, data processing centers, among others.
Last edited:
Not to be mean, but why would anybody want to salvage it in the first place? There's not that many people there to begin with, it's impossible to get to, and there are places within a few hours that offer significantly better opportunities than anything in Eastern Kentucky. The best approach would be turning as much of you can of it into a National Forest. They should also move from 50 or so counties to 3.
1. Either someone from that area needs to invent something ... or create something like a new google or Facebook... and have the business located in Eastern Ky.
2. Create a reason for tourism. such a creepy area.... something with Bigfoot ... UFO's , something could work.
3. let the area die a death it deserves.
2. Create a reason for tourism. such a creepy area.... something with Bigfoot ... UFO's , something could work.
3. let the area die a death it deserves.
My understanding was that the coal industry was always so politically and economically corupt, that only the few made any money, and the masses basically made enough to exist. Is that incorrect? If correct, then maybe the demise of coal is a blessing in that it will encourage future generations to realize there is no future to staying in Eastern KY and move elsewhere.
Even if a Branson type area formed in Eastern KY, or some large corporation, the benefits would be limited to roughly a area probably 50 miles across. Even though I have no interest in pot, legalizing it in KY might be the biggest boost the entire region could see.
I can see benefit to reducing the number of counties, although 50 to 3 might be a bit extreme. 50 to 10-15 would be more manageable. But the potential for corruption could increase, so I think the state would need to help with ensuring that did not happen.
Making most of Eastern KY a national park I don't think would help. A big chunk is already a National Forrest. And being a park alone doesn't bring in tourists. You need sites & attractions. There are a few but I don't think enough, nor big enough ones.
Even if a Branson type area formed in Eastern KY, or some large corporation, the benefits would be limited to roughly a area probably 50 miles across. Even though I have no interest in pot, legalizing it in KY might be the biggest boost the entire region could see.
I can see benefit to reducing the number of counties, although 50 to 3 might be a bit extreme. 50 to 10-15 would be more manageable. But the potential for corruption could increase, so I think the state would need to help with ensuring that did not happen.
Making most of Eastern KY a national park I don't think would help. A big chunk is already a National Forrest. And being a park alone doesn't bring in tourists. You need sites & attractions. There are a few but I don't think enough, nor big enough ones.
Let the new energy source arise:
Have the churches encourage abstinence and disapprove of birth control & condoms.
Plump up the children with corn syrup of any and all fashion.
Allow young adults heifers to turn to sedentary lives of malaise and ignorance as they plump further.
Turn a blind eye to pull mills that numb ubiquitous joint pain of an obese population as they claim disability and entitlements until death.
Disallow burial per EPA.
Turn all funeral homes into crematoriums.
Burn the fat of the dead and lower my Duke bill.
Have the churches encourage abstinence and disapprove of birth control & condoms.
Plump up the children with corn syrup of any and all fashion.
Allow young adults heifers to turn to sedentary lives of malaise and ignorance as they plump further.
Turn a blind eye to pull mills that numb ubiquitous joint pain of an obese population as they claim disability and entitlements until death.
Disallow burial per EPA.
Turn all funeral homes into crematoriums.
Burn the fat of the dead and lower my Duke bill.
If a Mexican can travel thousands of miles to work you can move a few hours west.
I'm sorry, but can we nominate 'make Eastern KY the Silicon Valley of the East" the dumbest proposal in the history of Paddock proposals? Do you really think it was random that the southern portion of the SF Bay area became Silicon Valley? Do you really think it could have just as easily been Fargo, ND or Amarillo, TX or Corbin, KY?
Because less counties and wider spreading of resources would save money? We aren't asking you condescending people for help. Please, we have our problems but so do other places if you peel back your blinders and see it. The reality is we need to work together as eastern kentuckians to fix the problems here. It's sad when so many from this state look down on their brethren. As an educated (yes shocking I know) eastern Kentuckian the ridicule we face from our OWN neighbors in other parts of the state is sickening. Why don't we take each of your homes and "turn them into a park?" Better yet, the bluegrass is so beautiful the sickening and astonishing wrath of urban sprawl is ruining such a beautiful area. Maybe all the areas around Lexington/Louisville should be "turned into parks." Suggested solutions are welcome. But, just because you chose to live in a particular area doesn't afford you an opportunity to feel superior to others and speak in a condescending tone regarding a life they chose to live. There are good, hard working, successful people in the mountains. And to be honest, I along with many others would rather roll up our sleeves and work to find a solution rather than turn and leave our heritage, our families, our HOME. Rant over...
On topic: the solution has to come from improved Internet/cell service and transportation. Major manufacturing operations are unlikely to locate here. But, using readily available resources such as timber for small scale production could work. Also, temporary government funds to clean up areas of the counties with a focus on tourism would help diversify the economies in each area. I've longed for a coalition of mountain counties to be established in which each county/city government would work together to improve the area with a regional focus. Unfortunately, this would require a shakeup of the many local political strong holds in the mountains which may prove impossible.
No offense sir, but everything you said is complete BS. As a whole, your area of the state cannot take care of itself. Obesity - disaster. Drug addition - disaster. Health - disaster. Nobody did this to you. This is who you all are. As an educated man, you should realize that no one other than yourselves can fix it. But if you're asking me to fix it, I'd say that money is better spent elsewhere.
Read what I said again. You, contradict yourself in that post. Of course you don't want to spend money in eastern Kentucky. This area is beneath the almighty WayneDougan...
No dude... fewer counties enables the elimination of redundant tasks. For example, instead of 50 county clerks, you could be down to 5.
How do you eradicate/alter the overwhelming culture of entitlement? You could widen and pave every road, install state-of-the-art digital infrastructure, develop clean/alternative energy industry and bring in solid employment opportunities, and what would happen? Politicians would swindle and bid rig all the new construction, the pill heads would pillage the telecom in search of copper, the people who are clean and able enough to take a job would find a way to collect disability within < 6 months, and then proceed to crash their ATV's rendering them even more worthless.
There are many corners of the country more isolated and rugged than EKY. But very few, actually none, have such an overwhelming population of worthlessness.
There are many corners of the country more isolated and rugged than EKY. But very few, actually none, have such an overwhelming population of worthlessness.
Eastern KY is not beneath me. Nor are the people there.
Microsoft is located in Seattle WA... Not silicon valley so I rest my case that a corporation that is highly successful can be put in other places not named California.
Eastern Ky is not where I'd put anything if I invented or created something massive. But if a Eastern Ky man or woman did and didnt want to leave the area....... who knows.
Personally I think the area is sh*t out of luck .
Eastern Ky is not where I'd put anything if I invented or created something massive. But if a Eastern Ky man or woman did and didnt want to leave the area....... who knows.
Personally I think the area is sh*t out of luck .
Last edited:
And then expect someone to travel 50+ miles to have their car licensed? Election results to travel 50+ miles to be tallied and counted? Would. Never. Work.
I was born and raised in West Liberty and I feel exactly the same, I go back and visit my folks from time to time and take my son but I never, ever spend the night, a few hours is way more than enough for me
There are 58 counties in California. That state has 38 million people over 163K square miles.
There are 120 counties in Kentucky. Our state has 4.5 million people over 40K square miles.
Oregon has about the same amount of people as Kentucky, but they are a bigger state by geography. They have 38 counties.
Oh, and there's this really cool thing called the internet that allows you to do things like register a car on-line.
Except, we just discussed the lack of Internet/cell availability in the mountains. Furthermore, currently in this area no county clerk offers such service secondary to a lack of available funds. It's apparent you offer suggestions without basis. Feasibility of eliminating representation and civic opportunity within the region does nothing but futher oppression. Either way, last post in this thread for me.