Americans are starving.

[WellPreserved]

I believe that Owsley County also has one of the highest cancer rates in the county due to coal industry and poverty. Like a lot of Appalachia, it was always a poor county and they've lost what little industry they had, tobacco and coal. Hard to believe that people in Appalachia used to be called "Kennedy Democrats". I don't think that those in Appalachia vote Republican due to loss of jobs so much as the fact that they are, for the most part, deeply religious and mainly fundamental Christians. When you've lost everything else, your religio ends up being the only thing to hold onto.

When you’ve lost everything else “ because democrats didn’t think you should be allowed to have it” you tend to vote Republican…



It’s not just that they’re poor, dumb and religious like most democratic leaders want to paint a picture of them.

The county votes Republican and has for more than a century.

Then they are an anomaly in Appalachia.

[cgd5112]

Are you saying they voted Dem up until the mines closed?

Owsley county also has a populationof about 4,000 with a median age of nearly 50 years old. It's a bunch of old coal miners who refuse to leave the homes their families lived and thrived in when they worked in the coal mines. A lot of them hunt, garden. Etc so they're actually ok on food. But you're right it's very poor there. Most leave for work when they turn 18.
They continue to vote Republican because the coal mines closed under Democratic policies and when they were asked what they were supposed to do to make money they were told it wasn't the governments problem. Which is also why they have no problem taking government aid the government took all they knew from them. They aren't all the most educated a lot grew up with grandad and daddy working in the mines knowing that they would do it as soon as they were old enough. It's all they know.

I read that KY has a county ( Owsley?) that is predominantly dependent on government aid/food stamps in the nation yet they continue to vote Republican and want little government involvement but are happy to take the federal aid. I also read that Owsley county is the nation’s poorest white-majority county in terms of annual median household income.

And now with food prices still high despite inflation lowering, I can't even imagine how difficult it must be for that county to survive and secure food for families on food stamps.

Absolutely but California money is so mismanaged. In a state that spends 42,000 per homeless person such poverty shouldn't exist but absolutely does. I'm still trying to figure out what they're doing with that money especially as I drive by miles of tents lining the freeways and watch homeless dig in the trash for food. I have a hard time believing there's only 181,000 homeless in California too though.
And food insecurity is terrible.
I moved from California to Kentucky and I see so much less homelessness and so much less food insecurity here. Now eastern Kentucky was hit hard and does have a lot of poverty because their livelihood was taken away when they shut down the coal mines. They were doing fine until the federal government decided to take away their source of income. But let's just blame that on the fact it's a red state (with a democratic governor by the way).

[WellPreserved]

When you’ve lost everything else “ because democrats didn’t think you should be allowed to have it” you tend to vote Republican…



It’s not just that they’re poor, dumb and religious like most democratic leaders want to paint a picture of them.

You can't lose what you've never had.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... rest-towns

What does that article have to do with what they had?

Appalachia is filled with a wonderfully diverse mix of people and cultures and those who live in Appalachia are resilient, hard working, and independent. The three main industries in Appalachia were logging, tobacco, and coal. Logging ended with the death of the American Chestnut, tobacco declined with the declining market and land depletion, and coal declined well before current regulations. Trains enabled cheaper coal from South Central to be shipped throughout the east coast. Depletion of mines required miners to dig deeper in order to access coal. Automation required less manual labor. Coal miners in Appalachia have always been exploited by the coal industry making sometimes less than minimum wage. Don't even get me started on mining towns. Most recently, mining in Appalachia has reduced due to regulations as well as the lower cost of natural gas. Reduction of industry since the 50s, mass migration of residents, particularly the young to urban areas following WWII, and exploitative labor practices of industry has kept Appalachia poor and it's by design.

Appalachia has always been known for its poverty (and resiliance). So much so that helping Appalachia specifically became part of Johnson and Kennedy's stump speeches. Appalachia consistently voted Democrat in the presidential elections since the 1960s but started voting Republican after Clinton. This makes sense. Despite promises from Democrats, nothing really has been done for Appalachia federally other than the Appalachian Development Commission formed during the Johnson administration and that is underfunded. However, Appalachia continued to vote Democrat for Congressional seats and local elections for the most part except during the last two election cycles.

Claiming that those who live in Appalachia were impoverished by the loss of coal is wrong. Claiming that coal was an Appalachia "lifestyle" is wrong and denies the rich culture and experience of Appalachia. Claiming that that's all they know is demeaning. Claiming that Appalachia has voted Republican for 100 years is wrong.

Appalachia may have been "coal country" but its people are so much more than just "coal miners".

[WellPreserved]

I read that KY has a county ( Owsley?) that is predominantly dependent on government aid/food stamps in the nation yet they continue to vote Republican and want little government involvement but are happy to take the federal aid. I also read that Owsley county is the nation’s poorest white-majority county in terms of annual median household income.

And now with food prices still high despite inflation lowering, I can't even imagine how difficult it must be for that county to survive and secure food for families on food stamps.

I dunno, I’m from California, food insecurity is a problem everywhere.
https://healthpolicy.ucla.edu/our-work/ ... y%20(CHIS).

Absolutely but California money is so mismanaged. In a state that spends 42,000 per homeless person such poverty shouldn't exist but absolutely does. I'm still trying to figure out what they're doing with that money especially as I drive by miles of tents lining the freeways and watch homeless dig in the trash for food. I have a hard time believing there's only 181,000 homeless in California too though.
And food insecurity is terrible.
I moved from California to Kentucky and I see so much less homelessness and so much less food insecurity here. Now eastern Kentucky was hit hard and does have a lot of poverty because their livelihood was taken away when they shut down the coal mines. They were doing fine until the federal government decided to take away their source of income. But let's just blame that on the fact it's a red state (with a democratic governor by the way).

They should take aid. President Johnson literally announced his "War on Poverty" from Owsley County.

[RIZZY]

I'm in TX. The price of groceries is just astronomical to me. I used to spend $300 on groceries and it would fill up the entire back of my truck. Now I spend $300 on groceries and it fills up the foot space in the passenger side. If I need to buy snack-type foods, or things like laundry detergent, forget about it. I'm about to start making my own damn laundry detergent.

I've started going to different grocery stores far away from me, mostly because the ones where I live lock up everydamnthing and you have to wait 45 minutes for an employee to come by and get the product for you. And I'm noticing that the same chains of stores will sell the same exact products for radically different prices in different areas. At first, I thought, okay, it makes sense that they would charge more in more affluent areas but it's actually the opposite. In my area, Walmart sells the Great Value 60 count eggs for $12.99. In the affluent area, they're charging $9.98.

[mommy_jules]

I'm in TX. The price of groceries is just astronomical to me. I used to spend $300 on groceries and it would fill up the entire back of my truck. Now I spend $300 on groceries and it fills up the foot space in the passenger side. If I need to buy snack-type foods, or things like laundry detergent, forget about it. I'm about to start making my own damn laundry detergent.

I've started going to different grocery stores far away from me, mostly because the ones where I live lock up everydamnthing and you have to wait 45 minutes for an employee to come by and get the product for you. And I'm noticing that the same chains of stores will sell the same exact products for radically different prices in different areas. At first, I thought, okay, it makes sense that they would charge more in more affluent areas but it's actually the opposite. In my area, Walmart sells the Great Value 60 count eggs for $12.99. In the affluent area, they're charging $9.98.

Is there an Aldi in the affluent area?

[highlandmum]

I'm in TX. The price of groceries is just astronomical to me. I used to spend $300 on groceries and it would fill up the entire back of my truck. Now I spend $300 on groceries and it fills up the foot space in the passenger side. If I need to buy snack-type foods, or things like laundry detergent, forget about it. I'm about to start making my own damn laundry detergent.

I've started going to different grocery stores far away from me, mostly because the ones where I live lock up everydamnthing and you have to wait 45 minutes for an employee to come by and get the product for you. And I'm noticing that the same chains of stores will sell the same exact products for radically different prices in different areas. At first, I thought, okay, it makes sense that they would charge more in more affluent areas but it's actually the opposite. In my area, Walmart sells the Great Value 60 count eggs for $12.99. In the affluent area, they're charging $9.98.

It's everywhere, I am in Ontario, Canada and prices are out of control. For some reason they think stores think that $7.99 a pound for ground beef is a deal worth posting about. I spend more time going through grocery flyers and planning my meals around them than I should have to.

Thing about us is we have a situation where three chains control 90%+ of the market. I always think there is something going on as when one store advertises chicken breasts at $4.99 a pound another competitor has them on for $4.98 a pound. Heck if these flyers are suppose to be printed in advanced why are the same damn products on sale at every store? Can we say the words "Price Fixing" anyone?

[RIZZY]

I'm in TX. The price of groceries is just astronomical to me. I used to spend $300 on groceries and it would fill up the entire back of my truck. Now I spend $300 on groceries and it fills up the foot space in the passenger side. If I need to buy snack-type foods, or things like laundry detergent, forget about it. I'm about to start making my own damn laundry detergent.

I've started going to different grocery stores far away from me, mostly because the ones where I live lock up everydamnthing and you have to wait 45 minutes for an employee to come by and get the product for you. And I'm noticing that the same chains of stores will sell the same exact products for radically different prices in different areas. At first, I thought, okay, it makes sense that they would charge more in more affluent areas but it's actually the opposite. In my area, Walmart sells the Great Value 60 count eggs for $12.99. In the affluent area, they're charging $9.98.

Is there an Aldi in the affluent area?

Yes but I've been and I don't really find it worth it. They have really good deals when things are on sale but that's it.

[mommy_jules]

I'm in TX. The price of groceries is just astronomical to me. I used to spend $300 on groceries and it would fill up the entire back of my truck. Now I spend $300 on groceries and it fills up the foot space in the passenger side. If I need to buy snack-type foods, or things like laundry detergent, forget about it. I'm about to start making my own damn laundry detergent.

I've started going to different grocery stores far away from me, mostly because the ones where I live lock up everydamnthing and you have to wait 45 minutes for an employee to come by and get the product for you. And I'm noticing that the same chains of stores will sell the same exact products for radically different prices in different areas. At first, I thought, okay, it makes sense that they would charge more in more affluent areas but it's actually the opposite. In my area, Walmart sells the Great Value 60 count eggs for $12.99. In the affluent area, they're charging $9.98.

Is there an Aldi in the affluent area?

Yes but I've been and I don't really find it worth it. They have really good deals when things are on sale but that's it.

I ask because in my area with have 2 Walmarts within 15/20 minutes of us. One is in the same area as an Aldi, and it (Walmart) has prices on certain items like milk and eggs that match Aldi. The other Walmart does not have an Aldi nearby, and it always has a higher price.

[RIZZY]

Is there an Aldi in the affluent area?

Yes but I've been and I don't really find it worth it. They have really good deals when things are on sale but that's it.

I ask because in my area with have 2 Walmarts within 15/20 minutes of us. One is in the same area as an Aldi, and it (Walmart) has prices on certain items like milk and eggs that match Aldi. The other Walmart does not have an Aldi nearby, and it always has a higher price.

In that case, I'll keep looking for one!