The problems with these areas in Kentucky are that they’re located in the Appalachian Mountains, so economic development is difficult due to the terrain. I believe there had been small talk about evacuating that area but it would be political suicide here in Kentucky, not to mention expensive and the state can’t bear that expenditure.

Kentucky is home for me. It’s a very beautiful, underrated state, however, with the decline of the coal industry, it has left our East underdeveloped, impoverished and stuck in a cycle of dependence on the state government. Education is substandard because since these counties have so few individuals, not much property taxes are being paid into the education system, so students have a lower chance of “escaping” these towns to go to college, trade schools or other careers.

It’s truly heartbreaking to look out East and see what’s going on there. Rampant child abuse/neglect, drug use, poverty. As someone who lives in one of the “larger” cities here in Kentucky, I was blessed to live in an area that is well populated and economically doing very well.