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OPINIONS
Voice of the people
U.S. needs lower standard of living
Economic growth and increased productivity might seem good, but they are quite destructive.
When productivity increases, the demand can be met with fewer workers. If the economy is growing, demand might increase. However, this planet cannot sustain a growing economy any longer. The present population and gross national product are already too large for this planet to sustain without damage.
We must accept that parts of the Great American Dream are no longer possible and be gracious enough to live without them. Instead of following the present economic policies, we must devise an economic system that provides prosperity with a constant per capita gross national product and a decreasing population.
Women must not have more than one child each until the United States population has been reduced to a sustainable amount, which is about 5 million to 20 million. This also applies to the rest of this planet.
Samuel Bauserman
Huntington
Train strip miners for new, stable jobs
Hobet 22 will be one of many coming discussions of how jobs will be impacted when mountaintop removal is banned. The question that is always neglected in the jobs discussion, however, is, "What can be done in order to ensure stable jobs for strip miners while bringing an end to mountaintop removal so that they will no longer fear future unemployment?"
Information in recent articles suggests that stripmine jobs don't provide long-term, stable incomes. Quoting one article: "Corps permit records say Hobet 22 would employ 75 workers (for) a three-year period." Is that what this debate is about? Three-year jobs? If so, why not begin creating new, stable jobs that strip miners can be readily trained for?
One solution is to develop West Virginia's vast renewable energy resources. West Virginia has more than 10,000 megawatts of wind potential alone. Developing that potential would create tens of thousands of jobs in the manufacturing, construction, operation and maintenance of wind turbines. These are jobs that last far longer than three years; they last forever. These could be safe, unionized jobs that aren't likely to be shut down, and they are jobs that strip miners can be readily trained for.
Rory McIlmoil
Rock Creek, W.Va.
Dems waste chance to win this election
The column by John Patrick Grace in the Aug. 13 issue was exactly on track in that he said the Bush administration performed in a manner justifying impeachment by lying about a number of issues.
The Democrats failed to take advantage of a wonderful opportunity when they avoided mentioning impeachment as well as illegal immigration in the campaign. The people made a huge error by voting for someone who could not possibly defeat John McCain or any other decent Republican. The superdelegates made an error by going against the will of the people.
So, as a result of these failures, I, being a registered Democrat, will be forced to vote against a number of Democrats in November. What a shame. This makes me nauseous. What about you, fellow Democrats? Are you ashamed of the party?
S. Elmo Bledsoe
Barboursville
