Yes, mining is a dangerous profession, particularly for folks working underground. And, certainly, mining is a dirty profession, again, especially if you work underground.

Add to that, though, that mining is a well-paying job that often requires technical knowledgge and good training, and for folks in mining communities those jobs are often much better options than anything else that they’ll find in the area.  For mining engineers--like folks who go to schools like the Colorado School of Mines--the potential paycheck is mighty good. The popular view of mining might be a bunch of grimy faces marching underground with picks and hardhats, but the reality is much more complex.

So, again, let me say, these are good paying jobs. Indeed, these are good jobs--worthy work that helps America’s economy motor along and, because of mine worker advocates, far a job done far safer here than in much of the world. These are good jobs.

The current administration has already made decisions that have killed job growth in the mining industry, but now there is fear that we could see a loss of jobs.

Two miles deep in their latest tunnel, coal miner Steve Baker and his cohorts barely blink at underground hazards: a cavern collapsing behind them, explosive gas around their boots, roiling clouds of black dust.
But they dread the above-ground parrying of state and federal politicians over protection of the nation’s forests. Decisions expected soon by Gov. Bill Ritter and the Obama administration may threaten the miners’ livelihoods — and the future of a traditional industry in western Colorado.
Once, the miners relied on bore holes drilled from the forest above to vent the explosive methane. Today, new holes are prohibited — because holes require temporary roads through forests where roads have been banned.

Now, access to half their coal reserves is hung up, jeopardizing 1,000 jobs in this valley and survival of a half-dozen towns.

There is room for talking about environmental effects, safety, and the value of the different kinds of mining in the United States, but never forget that decisions made by the sophisticates in Washington DC have real world effects on families in communities that are probably very different from those that you or I live in. Johanna Maurice put it well in an article about her the effect that DC decision-makers were having on her home state:

West Virginia’s policymakers know the people who live up the road, know how they make a living, know what they can’t afford, know the problems local governments face, know what the loss of an employer would mean, know why some West Virginia workers have “Cadillac” health plans . . . .

In short, state policymakers know a thousand times more than distant, ill-informed - frankly, uncaring - bureaucrats in Washington would even think to ask.

The policymakers who are closest to us are vastly more likely to produce nuanced policies West Virginians can live with.

Absolutely right, which helps explain why Colorado democrats tend to skew surprisingly conservative in some areas.

If you really want to see job “creation” from DC, don’t look to see where the government is spending all that borrowed money; look to see where government is getting out of the way of people doing business.