Thursday, May 19, 2011
Econ 101: Coal
I found this presentation very interesting. I was amazed that coal related jobs in West Virginia made up only 8% of total jobs. Anytime you see "pro coal" ads on TV it is always mentioned about all of the jobs that are created because of coal. I honestly thought that this number would be higher.
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I was also surprised at the smaller-than-expected impact that coal has on the WV economy. The 8% number includes the multiplier effect (all the jobs created to support the coal mining) but makes no mention of the external costs that would reduce that positive impact. The citizens of all of WV bear the cost of abandoned mines, road damage, wildlife habitat destruction, and watershed destruction. Those citizens living in coal mining areas bear an even greater share of the external costs in the degradation of their quality of life, property values, and personal health.
ReplyDeleteYou have to keep in mind that for some of these communities, this IS the only job available for that kind of pay. For them, it IS all about jobs there.
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