jwb

To be fair he is representing a constituency that is completely and utterly dependant on coal to make a living. As coal gets phased out WV is going to suffer serious economic turmoil and I don't think anyone really has a clear plan to deal with that.

Teaching them to code isn't feasible. They're blue collar workers. Teaching them a trade isn't feasible. There's not enough demand for plumbers/electricians/etc in the area to replace the coal industry. Giving them green energy jobs isn't that feasible. It's not a really suitable area for solar farms etc. Relocating them is technically doable but probably not very popular there. They have strong cultural ties to the state they live in. A lot of them probably have no desire to move.

So what to do? Just get rid of coal and let them fend for themselves? If you're a politician from WV and you sign off on killing coal isn't that political suicide?