Mining for answers

Amid lots of talk about coal-mine reclamation for the environment and to provide laid-off miners employment, I’m thinking it’s a no-brainer. So I read about the funds, which come from a tax on coal production dating back to President Jimmy Carter in 1977 and how their use is stymied because they are used to shore up the national debt. The man in charge of the fund that he cannot use says so. Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo also says access to the fund is a mystery.

Then along comes U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, widely known as the Prince of Pork and who is one of the reasons we have such a large deficit, to save the day by using the reclamation funds. President Barack Obama also wants to use them. Should we name a road for another politician who saves the environment and makes a job with our money? Or add to his “legacy”?

See the irony?

Then there’s the fact that tax money is spent in huge piles to reclaim mining sites where the folks who made the money left the mess in the first place.

See the irony again?

The whole scenario is hugely confusing and deserves a better answer.

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Mining for answers."