I am constantly perplexed why our local politicians spend so much effort being a “Friend of Coal.” It seems to me that it’s very much like being a “Friend of Tobacco.” Tobacco has been a great industry since the mid 1600’s.
People made a lot of money working in the tobacco industry. People became addicted to its’ use, while dependent on its’ associated jobs. That was great for business.
Then, 350 years later, the day came when we found out it wasn’t so good for us after all. People got sick and started to die from clinging to the habits of old. Our health care system was caught in the aftermath of public subsidized medical expenses.
The Marlboro man quickly drove his cattle out of Dodge City to Europe, where he has been very successful at selling his poison to any one who has two fingers and a pair of lips. And low and behold, the tobacco-backed city, left behind, turned into a dust bowl, leaving vacant houses and no jobs.
When the end was in sight for tobacco, U.S. politicians were suddenly no longer “Friends of Tobacco.” They moved their alliances and efforts to support other sustainable industries for their voters, things like technology empowered by transportation and communication infrastructure. The word “commerce” became synonymous with words like “e-commerce.”
But some old dinosaurs die hard. A few state politicians lobbied hard to financially support the poor tobacco farmer whose industry was under attack by an unsuspecting assailant, the Surgeon General. They convinced the state of Maryland to pay farmers NOT to plant tobacco on a yearly basis?
And those poor helpless farmers ... they took that money to the bank, leaving their empty and idle farm fields to wither year over year. After all, why should they work so hard when the state of Maryland is subsidizing their paycheck?
But the money finally ran out on the great tobacco buyout of the late 1900s. Maryland could no longer afford to pay farmers not to farm. And guess what happened next? The tobacco farmers of yesterday did what any enterprising person would do under the circumstances ... they changed the way they made a living.
I see a parallel between the coal industry and the tobacco industry. They have a strong lobby group who works real hard at keeping our good neighbors addicted to their “not so” high paying jobs.
Their byproducts are bad for our health, the health of their workers, and the environment. They expect subsidies and buyouts like the Coal Tax Credit to artificially support their failing business model.
And when the coal runs out, and it will, Mr. Peabody’s coal train will pull up its tracks as it heads back to Pennsylvania or wherever it came from, leaving Western Maryland with nothing but bad water and a far lagging economy behind.
Here is my challenge to Sen. Edwards and Delegate Beitzel: Think and plan beyond your elected term in office. You are paid to be smart, and not to do what everyone before you has already done just because it is the legacy of the past.
What will you do to pave the way for sustainable future for western Maryland? One thing is for sure, attracting young workers to a dying coal industry is no different than inviting the Marlboro Man to show up for career day at the local high school!
