[Hoot Gibson]

Government does not create jobs, it destroys jobs. Government has been destroying jobs in the coal industry for many years, it just shifted into a higher gear when Obama took office.

Eastern Kentuckians need to understand that eastern Kentucky has a horrible business climate. The only reason large companies provide coal mining jobs there is because there is no way to mine coal without having "boots on the ground."

We (I still consider myself a displaced eastern Kentuckian) have a crooked justice system where juries too often are populated with ignoramuses who are only interested in taking money from a corporation or insurance company with "deep pockets" and putting that money into the pockets of some deadbeat who is too lazy to work for a living. The companies who do business in eastern Kentucky are mostly the types of businesses who have no choice - hospitals, retail stores, groceries, etc. Look at most downtowns in eastern Kentucky. What do you see? Law offices where private businesses once thrived.

Stop whining to government to create jobs. That is not its job. Government is what put eastern Kentucky in the position that is in today. LBJ's launch of the so-called War on Poverty brought big government to eastern Kentucky as it had never been before and the result has been to drive hard working men and women away in search of jobs. At the same time, government is providing hammocks to those who choose to draw government checks and food stamps as they bought into the liberals' vision of an all powerful federal government fighting evil corporations. The government safety net was never meant to be so comfortable.