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I want to believe... But I suspect this will not be a winning approach for most displaced coal miners. What's interesting to me is that we have many reasonabl

I want to believe... But I suspect this will not be a winning approach for most displaced coal miners. What's interesting to me is that we have many reasonably well-paid trade skills in America: plumbers, carpenters, masons, electricians, landscapers, arborists, mechanics, etc. Last year I paid $2,000 for a new lawn and another $1,500 to have a dying tree removed. Both took a few hours for two people to complete. It wouldn't surprise me if these guys are making more money than your average programmer. I think we should try and promote these good jobs to both young people in depressed areas, but also to adults looking for a new trade. Not everyone needs to work in a cubical...

sirkneeland 11y ago
> Not everyone needs to work in a cubical... And not everyone wants to either! (s/cubical/cubicle)
deleted 11y ago
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zardo 11y ago
In depressed areas, you don't have many people with money to spend on home improvement.
- rm_-rf_slash 11y ago
  Home appliances and cars still break and need regular maintenance.
  - zardo 11y ago
    And people can rely on friends and family to get them fixed. I bet most HN readers are very familiar with the concept when it comes to computers breaking.
  - acveilleux 11y ago
    And that maintenance is minimized, avoided and cheapened out on as much as possible. You know all those stories of poor people being ticketed for burned out headlights and similar car problems? I don't know anyone in the tech industry who ever have a burned out headlight on their 2 years old leased car. Maybe it's because they can afford to have it fixed and maybe it's cause they don't own, let alone drive, a junker in the first place. Since I get downvoted a lot, perhaps a clarification in order: My point is when 2/3 of the high paying jobs in a locale get yanked, the service industry folks that depend on people having income they can use are the first to get screwed. Coal mining is high-paying (compared to median pay, it'd be shit by SF standards...)
- 0xCMP 11y ago
  Depressed doesn't mean poor or disadvantaged. In the case of these guys (if it's the ones I'm thinking of) they had a strong middle class area which just doesn't have the same jobs.
  - zardo 11y ago
    Depressed means a sustained downturn in economic activity. Ie, less money changing hands.
bluedino 11y ago
As a bonus, if there were more of these guys around their prices would go down a little bit. In certain parts of American where you have a large amount of immigrants (Texas, California...) you can get a gardener or carpenter much cheaper than say, in the north where the population isn't as high or diverse.
micro_cam 11y ago
As someone who lives in a small (western) mountain town I think one thing that is often overlooked is that all of those small businesses need at least basic web presence and the founders either need to be tech savey enough to set one up or have someone do it. Even static sites or facebook pages are still somewhat rare where I am. Its not glamorous or particularly challenging work by HN standards but it is a market for people with pretty basic computer/coding skills.
ArkyBeagle 11y ago
They probably are making more money , but it's an unusual person who can do that work past, say 50. It's also feast or famine.

sirkneeland 11y ago

> Not everyone needs to work in a cubical... And not everyone wants to either! (s/cubical/cubicle)

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

zardo 11y ago

In depressed areas, you don't have many people with money to spend on home improvement.

rm_-rf_slash 11y ago
Home appliances and cars still break and need regular maintenance.
- zardo 11y ago
  And people can rely on friends and family to get them fixed. I bet most HN readers are very familiar with the concept when it comes to computers breaking.
- acveilleux 11y ago
  And that maintenance is minimized, avoided and cheapened out on as much as possible. You know all those stories of poor people being ticketed for burned out headlights and similar car problems? I don't know anyone in the tech industry who ever have a burned out headlight on their 2 years old leased car. Maybe it's because they can afford to have it fixed and maybe it's cause they don't own, let alone drive, a junker in the first place. Since I get downvoted a lot, perhaps a clarification in order: My point is when 2/3 of the high paying jobs in a locale get yanked, the service industry folks that depend on people having income they can use are the first to get screwed. Coal mining is high-paying (compared to median pay, it'd be shit by SF standards...)
0xCMP 11y ago
Depressed doesn't mean poor or disadvantaged. In the case of these guys (if it's the ones I'm thinking of) they had a strong middle class area which just doesn't have the same jobs.
- zardo 11y ago
  Depressed means a sustained downturn in economic activity. Ie, less money changing hands.

bluedino 11y ago

As a bonus, if there were more of these guys around their prices would go down a little bit. In certain parts of American where you have a large amount of immigrants (Texas, California...) you can get a gardener or carpenter much cheaper than say, in the north where the population isn't as high or diverse.

micro_cam 11y ago

As someone who lives in a small (western) mountain town I think one thing that is often overlooked is that all of those small businesses need at least basic web presence and the founders either need to be tech savey enough to set one up or have someone do it. Even static sites or facebook pages are still somewhat rare where I am. Its not glamorous or particularly challenging work by HN standards but it is a market for people with pretty basic computer/coding skills.

ArkyBeagle 11y ago

They probably are making more money , but it's an unusual person who can do that work past, say 50. It's also feast or famine.