Computers in Coal Country

Coding in coal country is like the Jamaican Bobsled Team in Jamaica but teaching the population how to keep computer jobs can give folks   jobs and help them to survive and thrive. Face it, the unsafe and sickly coal industry in America is dead. We know better and can do better. During the campaign Trump made a promise to save the coal industry but as of yet he has done nothing but destroy all the health and pollution regulations for the coal company owners. How does that help the sick workers?

In just one year three of the largest coal companies have filed bankruptcy and coal-fired power plants are closing all over the country. What will the future of Appalachia be like? In the Booth Energy Coal Mine in Hazard, Kentucky one can travel in small man made tunnels for miles. Finally you can approach a massive machine with coal spewing onto a conveyor belt. The new machines has replaced 700 workers to just 200 workers to keep the mining operational. Technology has revolutionized coal mining so the jobs just aren’t there anymore. The use of natural gas makes coal useless. The people of that area have been coal miners for many generations and in this generation they are being laid off.

Hillary always wanted to promote jobs in clean energy and not coal. She lost the coal miners votes. At the turn of the Century Coal was America’s primary source of energy. Not anymore. Over the last 3 decades coal mining jobs have declined by 70%. In no way would it be economically viable to restart the old coal mines. Trump is an ignorant fool. The facts are that coal has become uncompetitive with advances in solar, wind and natural gas energy thriving, The only way to save the coal miners is to train them to do something valuable in this age of technology driven companies who thrive. We are in the age of the future where we have developed cars that drive themselves, machines are now diagnosing diseases and we are in a culture that is an all new ball game. Teach the new generation of coal miner’s children something new!

If Trump really cared about all those hard working Americans who are living in poverty now he would be spending their tax paying dollars on luring technology industries to the region and provide those people with training and jobs in industries where we are lacking professionals. It would even stop the immigration problem and all the professionals we lure from other countries would be gone because we know how to do stuff right here in America! That is how you Make America Great Again Donald. And stop selling your smelly hats on line for personal profit! He is an embarrassment. Now he pissed off Iran and they will be shooting of rockets too. How can you like the lying bastard?

Many people who arrived in Ellis Island from other countries in Europe were lured to work in the coal mines. They were offered homes and jobs then. No one is in love with coal. They are in love with the American dream. Now Trump is throwing out a population of people known as the Dreamers. Without the thriving mines anymore entire communities are failing. No jobs mean no money to buy stuff that mean stores close without customers. Small businesses that were a town’s staple in business for 50 or 75 years are now closing their doors forever.

The kids of coal miners are hopeful for a better future.  In Belfry High School in Pike County Kentucky in spite of Trump sending less in federal funding they are encouraging the students to stay in school and to go to college. With no coal job waiting for them after high school they are learning technology. More classes in technology and business has been added to the curriculum. The high school students with the aid of a 3D Printer they are getting prescriptions from doctors and creating shoe inserts for people with foot problems. They are learning to operate and run new businesses.

We need to embrace change and not to try to freeze history. Trump needs to support the revolution needed in our nation’s schools to train kids to have new jobs especially in economically depressed regions. Start- up businesses rely on federal programs like the Appalachian Regional Commission. TRUMP HAS LIED AGAIN. His budget would cut funding for Appalachia and his allies in coal country are livid. America has risen to greatness throughout the years because of the opportunities here to embrace any new business for anyone who chooses to pursue a career in the future enterprises. We have the potential to continue to be a great country but it will not happen with the kinds of changes Trump is actually making.