Written By : John Hawkins

When liberals get into power, they ceaselessly churn out reams of job killing red tape with no concern whatsoever about how it impacts people in the real world. But, the fact of the matter is that real people’s lives are damaged by these thoughtless regulations that are put in place by these liberal politicians. Just take a look at what the Left is doing to coal miners in West Virginia:

Michael Fox can literally see where his job ends.

The 14-year veteran of the West Virginia coal mining industry is about a year and a half out from finishing his current project, and he can see the boundaries of the site. He doesn’t know whether there will be any work left for him after that, since a wave of environmental regulation has put his firm’s other permits on hold.

“Unless we can get a permit, we can’t extend the job no farther,” he said. “Right now, I don’t know if I can make it or not.”

Fox, who is married and has three kids, is among the hundreds of Appalachian miners who plan to rally in Washington, D.C., Wednesday in a bid to pressure the Obama administration to loosen restrictions on coal mining in their states. They say the rules amount to a de facto freeze on a chunk of the industry, jeopardizing jobs in one of the most economically depressed parts of the country.

Since last year, The Environmental Protection Agency has stepped up regulation on mountaintop coal mining across six Appalachian states because the explosives that are used to remove mountain surfaces send debris into rivers and streams, endangering the environment.

But with the stricter rules in place, the industry, which is considered the lifeblood of Appalachian towns, argues it’s under attack. Workers and advocacy groups that represent them say the rules unfairly target their region and require mining firms to meet unrealistic standards.

…In a state like West Virginia, whose $37,500 median household income is well below the national average, coal mining is considered a dangerous-but-reliable career.

Fox, who lives in Gilbert, estimates that he pulls in about $70,000 a year as a heavy equipment operator. He owns a small apartment complex on the side that he rents out to visiting trail riders; he intended that to be a nest egg for his kids’ education. But without the mining job, he worries he won’t be able to afford to maintain that side business and, in turn, won’t be able to send his kids to college.

According to a study put out in May by Republicans on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, EPA regulations put one in every four coal jobs in the region at risk. The study estimated that nearly 18,000 jobs, and about 80 small businesses, were tied to the 190 permits under enhanced review at the time.

Kentucky Coal Association President Bill Bissett said that 30 of those permits have since been withdrawn over EPA environmental concerns. Claiming thousands of other permits could be retroactively affected, Bissett called the regulations a “two-fold attack” on the industry. He said the new framework has put mining firms’ investment on hold, as well as that of outside investors.

“Everything’s in limbo,” he said.

…(Bryan Brown, executive director of the Federation for American Coal) said the standard the EPA uses is “ludicrous” and almost impossible to meet.

“Perrier drinking water doesn’t meet that standard,” he said. “They’ve implemented it knowing that the industry can’t meet it.”

This is liberalism at its core: a bunch of know-it-all lefties putting people out of work, all across the country, and then patting themselves on the back because they “care.” If you point out all the lives that they’re damaging with their regulations, they mumble something about how awful Republicans are or demonize corporations. Maybe, they’ll even pat themselves on the back because they’re big supporters of welfare programs for the people they put out of work.

This isn’t good and it isn’t noble. It’s snide, arrogant elitism that says that liberals should keep people from working for a living for “their own good.” You see, they don’t know their interests as well as the Left. If these miners understood the world like liberals do, why then they’d see that they’re better off being unemployed! What liberal rot…

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