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"I went to Cincinnati, Ohio and got a job making car manifolds for minimum wage, I was living with relations. But I didn't like it. It felt like that - felt like I was spongin'. So I decided to come home. I wish they'd put the factory in they've been talkin' about. There ain't no jobs here. It's hard. I could make a decent wage in Ohio, but you can't live on it there. Here I could live on that, but there ain't no jobs. You just can't win.
--BILL SIMPSON, Harlan County, Kentucky
An Overview of Poverty in Appalachia
Appalachia is a region rich in natural resources in both the vast coal deposits and lush timber in the mountain ridges and especially in the skill and labors of her people and their history and culture.
Despite the wealth in the land and the work ethic of the people, Appalachia is a region riddled with poverty. The issues are complex, deep-rooted, and extremely political, and cannot be adequately addressed in one simple introduction. We choose to highlight some of the more predominant facts in Central Appalachia to help you to understand the struggle that has been raging for well over a hundred years.
This article addresses coal-producing counties. Fundamentally, Central Appalachia's problems stem from the fact that in an eighty-county area, 72% of the surface acreage and 89% of the mineral rights are absentee-owned. Historically much of this land has been greatly underassessed and undertaxed. As a result of this undertaxation, local municipalities have had very little revenue to finance adequate educational systems, construct and maintain water and sewage treatment facilities, provide for county landfills, roads, and basic health care.
A 1982 land study discovered that in the eighty-county area, the average tax per acre was $.90, and almost 25% of the land was taxed at less than $.25 per acre. In this same area, 75% of the owners of mineral rights paid less than $.25 per acre.
In twelve counties surveyed in eastern Kentucky, the average tax for minerals was 1/5 of a cent. In West Virginia, the study revealed that absentee corporate landowners paid 16% of the total property tax for the state, yet they owned 50% of the land and 75% of the mineral rights.
With 72% of the surface land owned by people outside the region, local residents must compete with each other and with businesses and municipalities for the balance of the land. Compounding the shortage of land are the rugged terrain, steep mountains, and narrow valleys. Often the only places available for home sites are the mountainsides and the flood plains, thereby complicating the issuance of septic permits and increasing the likelihood of flooding and landslides.
Automation in the mining industry coupled with competition from the outside, cost more than 84,028 miners their jobs between 1980 and 1990.
Real unemployment in some areas rose to 50%. Between 1940 and 1970, over seven million people left the region to find work in southern and northern cities. 26% of West Virginia's population aged 18 to 25 left during the 1980's. The loss of jobs and the out migration has resulted in less revenue to support a faltering infrastructure that is vital to attracting new businesses to the area.
Economic development is seriously hindered by inadequate school systems, roads, and public utilities, lack of good accessible land, and insufficient medical care.
In the 24 county area served by ASP,
- 26% of the population live at or below the poverty line.
- 55,541 households have an annual income of less than $10,000.
- 4,341 housing units lack complete plumbing.
- 2,382 homes do not have complete kitchens.
- 31,236 households do not have a vehicle, and 19,254 households cannot afford a telephone. Absence of telephones and vehicles, compounded by physical isolation, create serious accessibility problems for health care and emergency situations.
Hunger and malnutrition are a hidden disaster for many of the region's poor. Rural residents pay up to 30% more for their food from local merchants who cannot offer the prices found in most major supermarkets. Pride and physical isolation coupled with lack of public transportation keep many people from applying for food stamps. In a ten-county area in southwestern Virginia, 90,197 families qualified for food stamps in February 1992; however only 51,649 received food stamp assistance.
The people of Appalachia are rallying to preserve the beauty of their land and to provide future generations with stable employment, public utilities, strong educational systems, safe housing, and affordable medical care. Mountain pride runs deep. Love of the land is what brought people here and love of the land is what brings those who have left back. We encourage you to come to Appalachia to enjoy the grandeur of the majestic mountains, to listen to the people who live here, to share their joys and struggles, and to experience first-hand the work of the Appalachia Service Project.
Documentation for this article can be found in the Appalachia Service Project administrative office.
For links to other sites about Appalachian, Christian, and social justice issues, visit our Resources and Links pages. |
