What in the "Third" World is Going on Here!?

The Region of Appalachia has always been know as a place rich is resources but a land of great poverty.

- In the Middle of the nineteenth century the economy centered around small household farming
- Logging was also a contributor, with the rivers being used as a vital transportation route to transport logs downstream
- Around the 1870's railroad technology began to impact the region. Tracks were laid through and around the mountains and along rivers.
- Railroads resulted in coal and timber becoming the primary resources from the region
- As the market for coal grew, companies began to create coal town. These towns would be owned completely by the coal companies.
- Miners in these town lived lives of poverty
- Similarity between the economy of Appalachia, and some Third World Countries
- Kennedy presidency- Federal Government adopted programs to deal with poverty
- Today's economy: retirement and tourism


Source: Internet Article
Title: Cutting Appalachia: Federal Spending Cuts Could Hurt Local Infrastructure Projects, Groups
By: Brian Gradd


- Some House Republicans in Washington have proposed 2.5 trillion in budget cuts during the next 10 years
- Among those are cuts to the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration
- With these cuts, jobs may be lost and the lack of ability to attract new businesses may occur
- The ARC and EDA cuts are among suggested spending cuts in the Spending Reduction Act of 2011, proposed last month by a Republican Study Committee.
- The Appalachian Regional Commission aids 420 of the counties in 13 designated Appalachian States, and has been responsible for bringing millions of dollars in funding over the years.