An Individual Plan

Divine Intervention

“he ain't heavy, he's my brother”

The Hollies

In Nashville there is a man with an undergraduate degree in philosophy and a master's degree in divinity. One would expect a person with those credentials to be involved in social work or ministry and he is. Just not in the traditional way where one gets a job with a federal agency or a church. Instead he makes skateboards. The Salemtown Skateboard Company builds custom skateboards and employs two young black men who otherwise would likely be on the streets or drawing a government check. In this area of Nashville, the federal government is the leading means of support. In an interview I watched the owner of the shop made a crucial statement. He said, “ it is not enough to just give them money. They must also learn how to make a living. But it's cheaper to just give them money.”

In that statement lies the crux of misunderstanding and misapplication of our entire social welfare system. Our system was never designed to just toss money at the problem. It was also designed with an education and support component the purpose of which was to teach the recipients how to learn skills that would sustain them in a life without government support. But, he is right. It is cheaper to just give them the money and that is what we do. It is a short term solution that compounds the problem into an inter-generational dependency. It is an indictment of government in general and our Congress in particular upon whom falls the responsibility of seeing that government initiatives are funded in a manner to insure success. Ultimately the fault is our own because we get the government we elect. Of course, there has always been a significant number of those Congressmen who disagreed fundamentally with the idea of government even having a role to play in the personal lives of citizens preferring instead to permit the exercise of free markets to create the initiative to learn to sink or swim. There is no doubt that will work if you are willing to allow those who fall on hard times to perish and I mean that literally. It will work if you are willing to allow those people who are downsized out of jobs to be unable to take care of their families. In the absence of social programs there exists no other option. If that is an untenable proposition then some sort of social programs are necessary and then the problem becomes how to operate them effectively with the least burden on society. The problem here is that many times operating them effectively seems to be in contradiction with the least burden on society but I would postulate that is not so.

I have met very few who do not feel that society should offer a hand up to those who have fallen but I hear a lot of them say they don't want the slackers to benefit. Well, who doesn't want that? But, as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Fact of the matter is that most don't think past this point to see the inherent problems in determining who should receive help and who should not. This is not a problem that was unanticipated by those who designed and advocated for social support networks. They didn't just want to hand out money in perpetuity. They wanted to create productive citizens who could contribute to our nation but it takes money to run those operations.

Talk to any social worker of any description today and you will find a person who is expected to do more with less. You will find a person who is carrying double, triple or more times the case load he or she was in years past. You will find a person who is unable to be more than a pencil pusher because of the reporting requirements of the increased caseload and then sometimes that person is subjected to administrative and sometimes criminal penalties for failure to do the job well. Is that fair?

Who is responsible for that failure? Is it the overworked caseworker or is the fault of those who couldn't budget adequate funding to accomplish the mission? Agencies have been forced to lay off staff until the failure of the mission statement is assured and then the search begins for someone to blame. Heads must roll. Failure to adequately fund these efforts in the early years to teach people how not to be burdens on society has led to succeeding generations of people who know no other way to live other than from the largess of their government. So, what do we do?

Will Anderson and Jason Henley are showing us what to do. They understand that they may never influence directly any more than the two young men they hired off the streets of Nashville but if they can teach them how to work for a living, be good men and become good fathers then that is enough. They don't have to change the world but they can pay their employees well more than minimum wage.

The task for government is more daunting but there are solutions. First, there must be an adequate number of caseworkers to effectively monitor those who are being helped. But then, can we enlist the help of private enterprise to reach more people? Yes, we have done this in the past with success but then we deleted the funding for it. Can we allow people to work and still receive support to help out while they move toward self-sufficiency? We are on the way to providing access to health care but there is great ideological resistance but this is a basic need. The free marketers say the best way to accomplish these goals is by cutting costs to businesses so they can hire more people. Businesses say the work force is too unskilled but the evidence is that businesses are too interested in the goal of maximizing profits to be a reliable, willing participant. If Will Anderson and Jason Henley can do it then why can't a wealthy corporation do it? They can but regardless of what the Supreme Court says, corporations are not people and they do not have the same hopes and goals as real people do.

My take is that it plainly can be done and should be done. The payoff is a few generations down the road when the problem of inter-generational dependency is lessened and the rewards of a contributing citizenry kick in. We just have to look a little farther down the road.

Old King Coal's legions are still struggling

A Change Is Going To Come

You better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone

Bob Dylan

“A dagger in the heart of the middle class” is how Senator Mitch McConnell characterized the new EPA ruling on Carbon Dioxide emissions.

“When I am in the Senate I will fiercely oppose the President's attack on Kentucky's coal industry” cried Alison Lundergen Grimes, Senator McConnell’s main opponent for reelection.

“This is very bad news within the industry” is how Bill Bissett, President of the Kentucky Coal Association described the new limits.

Greg Stumbo, the Representative from King Coal states his opinion in more succinct terms by saying, “it's dumb-ass policy.”

Each of these remarks was pretty much what was expected from those quarters but Senator McConnell eagerly opposes every word that issues from the mouth of President Obama and he is not alone in these parts with that. Secretary Grimes is in a tight race with McConnell and is fearful of losing even a small number of votes due to this issue. While she is confident of not losing significant voters from the left she is acutely aware of the possibility of losing some swing votes in the center. In Kentucky, our pols are still held in the sway of King Coal and, along with our other elected leaders, lack the political courage to lead the way into the future that will, willingly or not, drag us along.

I can't help but think that there are votes to be counted with an honest declaration that our leaders have failed us for 20 years and their allegiance to King Coal has left Kentucky in the unenviable position of not having used those years to be a leader in transitional fuels and new technology. As I said a few weeks ago, it is short-sighted policy where long-range policy was needed. Now, here we are and it isn't going to be pretty.

However, it is certainly not as dismal as every one of the candidates for Mitch's Senate seat makes it out to be. Kentucky is faced with having to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 18% while the national goal is 30% by 2030. This reduction can be accomplished by any means or combinations of means such as better conservation, improved insulation, sharing carbon credits with others or more use of natural gas as a transitional fuel. There can be no doubt that whatever happens coal will be less a part of the energy calculation and coal has been the main source of decent paying jobs in Eastern Kentucky for over a hundred years. It has also brought a lot of heartache. Reporters from the Lexington Herald-Leader have done some excellent in depth reporting on this. Jamie Lucke wrote a prize winning series a couple of years ago and Bill Estep, John Cheves and Linda Blackford wrote one beginning last year. Both took on King Coal and spoke truth to power, letting the chips fall where they may and it made quite a pile.

The fact of the matter is that King Coal has never had to carry the full cost of using it as a fuel. If it had to carry the costs of ecological damage, water destruction, climate change and its attendant health risks there is no way it would be the cheapest form of energy production. What has happened is that those costs have been laid at the door of the American taxpayer who foots the bill for all those ills that go along with the use of coal.

• Black Bass, mercury contamination yields a recommended intake for most individuals of 1 meal/month for those in a higher risk category such as children and pregnant women the limit is 6 meals/year.
• Crappie/Rock Bass were also noted with mercury contamination and the consumption limits for them are 1 meal/week for most people and 1 meal/month for those at risk
• The EPA estimates that mountaintop removal valley fills are responsible for burying and polluting nearly 2,000 miles of vital Appalachian headwater streams.

According to the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center the data show that people in coal mining communities

• have a 70 percent increased risk for developing kidney disease.
• have a 64 percent increased risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) such as emphysema.
• are 30 percent more likely to report high blood pressure (hypertension).
  

On October 11, 2000 in Martin County, Kentucky a coal slurry pond that held 300 million gallons of liquid coal waste broke through the roof of the underground mine over which it was built. It flooded two streams and 100 miles of waterway before reaching the Ohio River leaving a dense covering of black goo in its wake. There are hundreds of these impoundments across Appalachia. Will the coal companies bear the cost of their cleanup?



Senator McConnell castigated Senator Harry Reid for saying that burning coal makes you sick saying Reid just doesn't understand Kentucky. My Take is that it seems pretty obvious there is truth in that. Jobs can't be reason enough to tread the path to destruction. You don't find too many people dying of black lung that think it is a good idea.



What do you think about these effects of using coal? Is it desirable to keep on using it or should we begin to change? What can we do to diversify the economy of Eastern Kentucky? Let me know.
rmoore@somerset-kentucky.com

The Beshear administration seems bound and determined to let one of the governor's biggest political contributors ruin one of Kentucky's most beautiful and historic places — even if it puts coalfield drinking water supplies and the SOAR initiative at risk.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/06/18/3296716/e-ky-cant-soar-with-ruined-water.html?sp=%2F99%2F349%2F#storylink=cpy

A Somewhat Contrarian View

An opportunity for innovation, better health and new jobs

By William J. “Billy” Ray

(Mr. Ray is CEO of the Glasgow Electric Plant Board)

This is an editorial that ran in the Wednesday Herald-Leader.  At the risk of spraining my arm, I have been preaching this for several years now.  But here is someone in the midst of the effects of the regulations who sees it as potentially positive.

   The Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement of new restrictions on greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants has already caused everyone to choose a side and dig in for a battle that no one really understands. In case there are any Kentuckians who have not chosen a side, I offer some thoughts, from a utility insider, on how the new regulations might impact us all.

   Most of Kentucky’s congressional delegation (and those who are presently trying to enter that delegation) is 100 percent committed to opposing the new regulations.
   Since these sides and positions were chosen so quickly, one must infer that this is done to gain the favor of an industry that often gives big dollars to political campaigns
   — the coal industry. The positions already taken by our legislators can have nothing to do with making the lot of us Kentuckians better, because they have not had the time necessary to totally understand the impact of the new regulations.
   I suggest that there is a middle ground.
   There is already great opposition to the new regulations, mainly because we have been told that electric power rates will soar. Even if that were true, Kentuckians must also take into account the nagging issue that burning coal causes a warehouse full of health and climate issues, most of which — if properly monetized in the same recognizable form as our monthly power bill — would dwarf the impact of higher electric bills.
   There are folks who have earned the right to warn us about climate change, and one must be consciously drowning them out not to hear, and recognize, that we probably are slowly destroying everything we love with each kWh produced by burning fossil fuel. We must make progress on that problem, and the jobs which may be lost as coal consumption declines.
   Just how might our electric bills change under this new regulatory environment? The answer depends on how you ask the question.
   If the electric power industry and its customers continue to do things the way we have, electric bills will be staggering. But in the real world, we ought to expect that new economics would bring about new solutions, new ideas, and an evolution of thinking about how electric power should be supplied to our communities.
   Automakers responded to evolving fuel costs and pollution regulations by producing cleaner and more efficient cars and trucks. Surely the electric power industry can do as well as they have done. In 2014 and beyond, we should be able to design electric power solutions that are yearning to become viable, needing only a little change to the status quo to flourish. These new solutions should also bring new businesses and jobs.
   In Glasgow, we have been changing our relationship with our electric customers over the last couple of years. We are attempting to predict when Glasgow’s peak demand might occur and we are telling the community, and our customers are responding by showing that electric demand can be reshaped such that only the most clean and efficient generation needs to be used to meet our daily demands.
   Coming soon will be a totally new retail rate structure that will amplify those peak predictions and assign costs to customers based upon the time of day when they use energy. These are solutions that are designed to work with more stringent regulations on Tennessee Valley Authority and other utilities, and help them accomplish the goals of these new regulations.
   So, there are ways to move ahead and utilize cleaner electric power generation resources. There are solutions that will allow us to enjoy life and electric power, while we also turn back the clock on the impact we are having on our air, water and climate. But these new ideas have not been considered in the Kentucky call to arms that began with the EPA announcement. These ideas are also not considered when we all assume that lost coal jobs will not be replaced.
   We are not bound by the way we operated utilities for the last century. We have a chance to use this chaotic time to our advantage. We are ready, at least as ready as any state, to move toward a lasting peace, instead of joining in a war that seems already to be declared.

Garden Issue No. 1

I have always wanted to grow a showpiece garden. As I drive around I see some gardens that are beautiful and I get so envious but I know that to equal those gardens would require a lot more than I am prepared to give at this stage of my life. I do pretty good early in the season when all you have to do is clear a bit of ground and drop a seed leaving the next step up to God. It is later in the season when other things are trying to grow in my garden and more of the responsibility for results falls on me that the wheels begin to come off. I had an epiphany that the garden is a pretty good metaphor for life. Things go along pretty good as long as God is in charge but when we try to take over a bit more then results become problematic. Like any metaphor you really don't want to stretch it too far.

I struggled with the early garden. The soil temperature comes up a bit more slowly here in the hollow so getting stuff out in late February and early March just does not work too good. I waited until April 15 which is the average last frost date to plant. Even at that some stuff came along pretty good then the temperature dropped and it rained for a couple of weeks. About everything rotted in the ground so I got to plant again. It was probably almost a month later before I got back in the groove and began planting again. So, here we are at the first of June and I am about a month behind. I have gotten salad stuff and some broccoli and, of course, asparagus but nothing else.

I usually put out about fifty tomato plants. I have about a dozen heirloom plants the chief among which is my Brandywines. I seriously love those things. The remainder of the crop is Better Boy which is a great canning tomato and we put up a lot of tomatoes whole. I was accused once of not being able to cook without tomatoes and my response was, “well, who would want to?”

This year I ordered my pole beans from the Sustainable Mountain Agriculture place over at Berea. I have put out some NT half-runners, Margaret Best cut shorts, greasy beans and some greasy cut-shorts. We have found that over the years that the flavor has been bred out of the usual half-runners and we are attempting to reclaim the joy of a bean that tastes good without covering it with something. I don't grow bush beans because I don't like to bend over to weed and pick them.

My zucchini and summer squash came up only sporadically but I have a darned good volunteer crop of the summer squash. I always plant too much of the stuff but who cares. I have four short rows of corn and I will follow up with another four rows depending, as usual, on my Jack Russel Terrier to harass any critters such as racoons that would try to devastate the corn crop. Last year I took the advice of the Evans' and bagged each ear after pollination to try to defeat the Japanese beetles and worms. It worked pretty good so I'll try that again. Knowing when the silks have been pollinated is a bit of a guessing game for me but I am sure that someone can fill me in on the proper timing.

I always like to try some different stuff so this year I am growing some kohlrabi. I eat a lot of the various cole crops so some variety will be welcome. We also put up chopped bell peppers for cooking so I've got a dozen or so of them out. You would be surprised how much chopped pepper that will produce. I will plant a few jalapenos since they are not too hot and have good flavor. I like to use them in my chow-chow that I have been trying to get like my Grandma Emily's for most of my adult life. She didn't use jalapenos but a few liberties shouldn't do too much harm.

I have tried for a few years to do some succession planting to assure a continuing supply of fresh cucumbers but the heat of the summer doesn't contribute to making that an easy job. But who knows, maybe it will work this time. I can go out into the garden when it is in production and just graze. To look at me you can tell that I also graze a considerable amount on other stuff but I do love the fresh garden.

Brussels sprouts are best grown in the fall as are the other cole crops but I set out some late this spring. If you can get them producing you can harvest them into December most years. Okra is another thing that I like to cook gumbos and such with so I put out a row of them.

As the summer progresses and my job that I use to make a living becomes more demanding the predictable results happen in the garden. I get to the point of doing weeding with the weed eater and this year I have one of those little Troy-Bilt tillers that you can get between things so I'm hoping to overcome some of the fruits of my non-labor.

And if all else fails I can rely on our local farmer's markets. The Market on Main opens June 5^th and I intend to be there. Last year I bought a bunch of garlic bulbs intending to set them out in the late fall as is directed but that did not happen. I intend to try to do better this year. If I can come up with a photo of the garden that I'm not embarrassed to share I will post it for all to see. Otherwise I may just post a photo of someone else's garden. As a matter of fact, why don’t you all send in some photos of your gardens for everyone to admire along with your gardening news and stories. See, another epiphany.