Social Apartheid in Bristol Virginia, Bristol Tennessee

By Lewis Loflin

Welcome to the third-world nation of Tri-Cities and Bristol VA/TN. Bristol, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee are at the center of Southern Appalachia, a banana republic, whose many bickering local governments waste more tax dollars with the least results of anywhere in America. They maintain a system best described as Social Apartheid.

No, this has nothing to with race, this region's minority populations are too small for that. If it were race, the government would put a stop to it. Those targeted are white, working class and poor whites that are locked out of almost everything. This system is rigidly enforced in local schools, zoning ordinances, government benefits, and on the job. In many cases better paying jobs are discouraged just to maintain low local wage scales, while many are forced into jobs that don't pay a living wage, then treated like garbage because of it. To quote Bill Deel, a retired English teacher in Clintwood, Virginia, "We're becoming more and more Third World here...The best and the brightest leave."

We will explore the real side of poverty and how government programs have mostly failed and benefited the rich. They failed because local government was given the money under the guise of "local control" and "community block grants" which ended up as golf courses, the arts, recreation, and public funding for shopping malls, corporate welfare for local business, and pork-barrel roads leading to nowhere. What we didn't get was jobs and education because the politicians, social scientists, and business leaders all attend the same country club. They failed because those in charge want them to fail. The only way they could be successful is for social change our community leaders oppose. Your college degree is all but worthless unless one "knows somebody."

One of my favorite quotes from our public officials that see poverty as a business asset: "Our labor force is a huge advantage since the county unemployment rate is twice the state average, and regionally, the unemployment rates range from 3.5 percent to 15 percent."

Economic and Social Reality

This is what billions of tax dollars and local politics have bought for the people of Tri-Cities. The excerpts below are taken from the Kingsport Times-News for March 4, 2001:

KINGSPORT - Although the Kingsport-Johnson City-Bristol area ranks third as a retirement area among 125 metropolitan areas, the region ranks only 99th as a sound place to earn and save money.

ING's annual study, "The Best Cities to Earn and Save Money," represents a comprehensive analysis of financial security in 125 metropolitan areas.

Security is defined as "the financial means and opportunities, regardless of source, to support one's self and dependents at an acceptable standard throughout a lifetime." "An emphasis on the capacity to earn income, safety and community infrastructure that supports individuals in good times and bad."

Top cities demonstrate high household wealth, high levels of educational attainment, high participation in retirement savings and life insurance, a low percentage of low-income households, and low crime rates. The Tri-Cities ranked 98th, the same as last year and down from 77th in 1999 and ranked among the bottom 25 in five critical areas:

  • The region ranked 124th in educational attainment, with an average of 12 years of education for persons 25 years or older.
  • Job creation was 121st among 125 metro areas, with an annual increase of only 0.7 percent.
  • Low household income was 121st, with an average household income of $33,166.
  • The region ranked 114th for participation in retirement savings programs, with 51.2 percent participating in a retirement plan.
  • The region also ranked 114th for numerous low-income households, with 23.2 percent of households posting income of $15,000 or less.
  • Key strengths that make the region a safe haven for retirees were the lowest cost of living of 125 cities, while ranking 11th for low-cost government services, at $1,850 per capita.
  • A low crime rate was also a strong point, although crime increased from 361 offenses to 379 offenses per 100,000 population.

The Kingsport Times-News on March 10, 2002 had this to say about the region: Northeast Tennessee has lost at least 2,100 manufacturing jobs since last July.... At the same time, the region gained 2,200 service-producing jobs... In all, the region posted a net gain of 800 jobs. According to Steb Hipple, economist at East Tennessee State University, "manufacturing jobs tend to pay higher wages and salaries than those in service-related industries. As a result, the region's overall payroll may be declining, despite a net gain of jobs."

LocalCensus.com is a completely free website that provides a plethora of statistical information about the United States of America and all of its cities, zip codes, and counties. LocalCensus.com also provides business listings from a wide variety of categories throughout most cities within the United States of America.

Breaking news January 2005:
Study: Thousands of Wal-Mart workers on TennCare Pay is so low families driven onto public assistance. This is the only type industry we get at Exit 7!

Also see Wal-Mart Controversy In Bristol

Other issues. This website and writer have been quoted in the Richmond Times Dispatch, Los Angeles Times, and the Kingsport Times-News, and Bristol Herald Courier.

My Reason for this website

Make no mistake, I'm no liberal or socialist. I'd like to see a massive reduction in government meddling and limit the welfare state. It's a failure here and there's no accountability to anyone. It's time to end this self perpetuating welfare industry and close down these legions of useless non-profits for profit. I'm presenting the plight of the working class (in this area mostly working poor) and believe in self-sufficiency and independence. I want to see an end to this corrupt relationship between business and local government.

See What our residents are saying about jobs

What does Greg Cox Real Estate and Prudential have to say about this region in 2008?

Bristol compared to Virginia state average:
  • Median household income below state average.
  • Median house value below state average.
  • Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher below state average.
Bristol compared to Tennessee state average:
  • Median household income below state average.
  • Median house value significantly below state average.
  • Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher below state average.

Controversy at the City owned utility:

What do residents say?

I've sit with some elderly people (some in their eighties) and watched them struggle with trying to pay their bills, especially utilities, because Social Services in Bristol refused to help them. Most of them couldn't even buy the food they needed. Did we need the optinet that much????? They're not retirees moving here, they are local people born here and struggling all their life to survive....

TVA needs to consider that smaller towns and rural area citizens do not receive the same pay scale that larger cities do. My mother is 87 years old and worked until age 65. She only gets a little more than $500 a month, because of what wages were when she worked. Her most recent light bill was $276, more than half of what she draws per month. There is nothing she can cut out of her budget to pay these ridiculous rates. Let the TVA executives try living on $500 a month and see how far they get.

I can't believe this!! I cannot afford to live in the Bristol Virginia area anymore..this is nuts!!! Since the beginning of the phone/cable/internet service at BVU they have had financial problems that have evidently been passed on to customers who use their sorry electric service. The electrical service and water service in the Bristol VA limits is so bad that we almost see a monthly power outage or water line break. Where is the money going?

Cable Ready Socialism What happens when a public utility (Bristol, Virginia Utilities or BVU) decide to wipe out private business after going over $50 million in debt?

Travelocity: A warning for region? Travelocity.com got about $10 million in corporate welfare and decides to dump Clintwood, Virginia for India. Congressman Rick Boucher (D VA 9th) calls this a success story and that he deserves full credit.

It just doesn't matter, if one doesn't have relatives or friends on the inside, you will never get a decent job here. Yet local government spends millions on economic development schemes such as Free Trade Zones, tourism, telemarketing, retail, etc. that never yield anything but contracts for contractors and consultants often their friends or relatives.

Why your college degree is worthless here

Washington County only has 69 teachers who earned more than $50,000 last year. Conversely, Bristol Tennessee City Schools has 82, even though Bristol has 262 teachers compared to Washington County's 580. The city's 2006-07 salary scale started new teachers at $35,695 and gave them bonuses for up to 30 years of service, at which time they earn $51,130 a year. Ref. BHC 12/03/2007 Note that 40% of Washington County Virginia students are on free or reduced lunch.

The refusal to pay better wages limits the labor pool. We have plenty of college graduates, but that isn't what they want. They desire better educated minimum wage workers to work all of the $6 an hour jobs this region produces. They won't get it.

Quoting a Sullivan County official, he confirmed again what most in power here will not address: "I was in no way casting dispersions on the level of education at ETSU. When I said that "we have ETSU students flipping burgers," I was pointing out that we do not have the level of jobs in this area to sustain the number of graduates from our local colleges. Therefore, they are forced to either leave the area or take what jobs are available to them, which in most cases are in the service area," The trouble is there are no decent jobs even open to college graduates.

Area employers want high school grads who have better math, verbal skills

12/09/2007 Kingsport Times-News (extract) ...These are the skills state business leaders say are most needed for entry-level jobs in today's economy, according to a final report issued by the Tennessee Diploma Project (TDP).

TDP, an initiative of state and business officials with the Tennessee Business Roundtable, involved statewide meetings with more than 130 business leaders representing 112 companies and organizations between June and August. Nearly 350 business leaders were also surveyed to rate the importance of job skills. TDP's report said that job skills wanted by employers also tended to be the skills frequently cited as missing among high school graduates.

TDP's major recommendations: Tennessee schools should place more emphasis on basic math; schools need project-based instruction; schools need to emphasize verbal communication; and schools should explore approaches for helping instill professional skills, including promoting appearance, punctuality and work ethic. The result could be a push for higher academic standards by either the Bredesen administration or lawmakers next year...

For more information, go to tndiplomaproject.com, which is just what I did. Some selected quotes from Tennessee Diploma Project and business leaders:

College is the way to a real middle class job and lifestyle. To quote Virginia Maedgen, human resources consultant, Convergys Corp.:
...when you look at the gateway job, or the entry-level supervisor, which is really the position people move into that allows them to get to a job where they've got a real middle-class income and can build a life, that's where we're missing the key skills. Not only the communication and analytical ability, but just the ability to construct arguments. A college prep curriculum offers so much of that. If we really get that type of curriculum as strong as it can be, it not only moves as many students as possible into post-secondary education, but it lifts up the group that would not make it to that level."

W. Andrew Burke, president and CEO, Regional Alliance for Economic Development:

"We recently completed a workforce profile and analysis in this region. More than 53 percent of the responding employers reported seeing deficiencies in basic skills...almost 28 percent of our population did not have a high school education, and that's very serious...In our world, it used to be, "Where is the cheapest place to do business?" Now it's, "Where is the best talent pool, the best human capital?" That overcomes everything else. If you can deliver that, then you're going to be in good shape."

So far this makes sense, but to quote Governor Phil Bredesen:

"Let's focus for the moment on people coming out of high school into careers rather than colleges...

So what are the problems? Scott Keys, plant manager, Cooper Standard Automotive:

"Along the lines of math, what we're finding in the manufacturing world is that statistics and probability, which aren't core subjects required for a high school diploma, are absolutely critical in this day and age. The majority of our people on the manufacturing floor come straight out of high school..."Just basics. Means, deviations, understanding what a Bell curve is, understanding when your process is shifting, understanding what the data is telling you. We have them do measurements and plot, but we have to educate them as to what it's actually telling them, and how to react to it. As I say, it's not advanced."

Mike Rohlwing, plant manager, Delta Faucet Co.: "On the manufacturing side, we've got 800 employees and 750 are the non-college graduate type...

Fred Cooper, president, Kingsport Book Inc.: Basic math is a huge issue. I'm talking about fractions and decimals and working without a calculator. They're dependent on machines to do basic math...I would love to see something in the curriculum, either on the vocational side or the traditional side of the high school, that prepares these young people for getting out into the real world...

Bo Passey, plant manager, Procter & Gamble: "From a hard skills standpoint, I see challenges beyond just the basic math skills. Analysis. Statistics. More and more of our business is becoming much more scientific. The days of putting the widget with the widget are gone. Technology would be the other area where we're finding folks are not capable. We're not teaching sufficient computer skills in high school. That gap is going to get bigger."

Fred Cooper, president, Kingsport Book Inc.: "we're trying to reach out and get high school educated young people who have some basic skills and who we feel like we can turn into craftsmen as the more experienced guys grow older and retire and move out of the workforce."

Ann Lewis, vice president of human resources, Jackson Energy Authority: "Even when kids have the knowledge, they have got to actually apply that knowledge in the workplace. If they could figure out how to self-manage, organize and prioritize their time, and do the research needed for problem solving, then maybe they can better transition to the workplace."

Larry Nunley, CEO and president, Accuforce Staffing Services: "We processed over 100,000 people to place 11,000 people last year...no high school diploma or GED. That's a big cross-section. Use of recreational drugs. That's a big knockout factor. But we've also raised our quality standards. Especially over the last five years, we saw our customers' demands increasing, in terms of process improvement that led to new equipment and machinery. So the job is totally different than it was 10 years ago, and significantly different than it was five years ago."

Jeff Thomas, human resources manager, Delta Faucet: People identify a path that maybe does not involve college. There are apprenticeship programs. A higher percentage of people come into the workforce with skills. And that makes a difference. Right now, we have some very high-paying jobs, and we can't find the skill sets."

Who is to blame? Arthur S. (Art) Powers, publisher, Johnson City Press: "To a person, the answer was: "It's the parents Much of the education business and the business community blame each other." To quote Lisa Meadows, president and CEO, Bristol Chamber of Commerce: "One of the things we hear continually from our members, whether it's small business, manufacturing or health care, is that there is a lack of connection and dialogue between educators and business. You hear from education, "Businesspeople do not understand what we go through," and I think they really don't understand what business needs. So I'm hoping this effort will get the two integrated."

But someone finally said what I already knew, but still missed the point. To quote Jason Bates, administration manager, Bodine Aluminum Inc.: "In addition to those issues, we look at specific technical skills, like basic math. Individuals who have a higher level of math skills typically go into the college ranks. The ones who don't tend to be the ones who struggle. But those are important skills that are required for our entry-level positions."

Most community colleges are not aimed at producing workers, but also know that business doesn't want college graduates to begin with. To quote TN Gov. Bredesen: "Well, I don't think our community college system does a wonderful job of aligning what it's doing with the real needs of the workplace. One thing I'm interested in exploring is any kind of joint effort where a community college can help train people in exchange for some honest attempts on your part to employ them when they're done."

Yes Governor Bredesen, how about "some honest attempts" on the part of regional industry to employ our young people that have the qualifications they demand, instead of lobbying for open borders and more Mexicans! That's the point, they won't hire people with college for social and political reasons, not work ethics or skills. And good people will not work for $7 an hour! One can't operate a modern business on a 1920s mentality. In the past experience and shear numbers made up for stupid politics and illiteracy, it won't work today.

To sum all of this up, the region suffers chronic dropout rates because the large numbers of dropouts breed more dropouts. Most of those with the motivation and skills business here demands, are rejected because they want high school graduates, not people with college. Most of the remaining employment is government, which is plagued by nepotism. So the vast majority of qualified workers out-migrate to get jobs elsewhere leaving a huge concentration of welfare losers, drug abusers, and more dropouts. All of this would change if the economic climate and corporate politics would change. Both Virginia and Tennessee rank in the top ten most anti-union (thus anti-labor) states in the country.

Wall of separation in education

Printed Kingsport Times News 1/8/08: Area employers claim to want statistics, probability, and good English skills. So why are so many hiring illiterate illegal aliens? This region is very labor hostile, and the Tarnoff Report made it clear employers refuse to increase pay or improve working conditions. Accuforce had to go through almost 100,000 people to get 11,000 qualified workers, many at $7 an hour. What am I missing here?

As an adjunct in vocational trades in the local college system, many (not all) of my younger students are lazy, while older students often lack science, math and English skills. There is a rigid wall of separation in education between academic and vocational, practical versus theoretical. The often left-wing humanities advocates are more interested in social engineering than math and dominate most school systems.

We face large numbers of disinterested or hostile parents and waste our time fighting over divisive political issues such evolution and condoms in schools. These are family issues that belong in the home, not the classroom. Many vocational programs are often wrongly used as dumping grounds for those considered academic failures. Business for some reason seems to hold the same hostility towards higher education on the factory floor while screaming they need those skills.

This nonsense must end because we need workers with both. We have far too many worthless humanities degrees for people that can't change a light bulb, while welders can't read a blueprint, as one factory manager told me. We need less global warming politics and more ability to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius. Students need to learn computers (number bases and computer logic), not just Microsoft and Google. We need to get politics and class warfare off the factory floor and out of the schools and employ some real teamwork. This wall of separation needs to go.

Lewis Loflin, Bristol, VA

As I was told in very strong terms by a person heading efforts to recruit and improve the workforce in Washington and Smyth Counties in Virginia, which have about 90 manufacturing companies, there's absolutely no discussion of wage scales or working conditions, period nor would he discuss it. He also made it clear industry has no interest in your college, your education, etc. That's just the way it is. Their job is to assist industry, period. That's the attaitude of this maze of non-profits that seemed determined only to get the next government grant. He also made it clear many of the jobs were never even advertised with the general public. It's worked through a closed system of insiders. But here is some data these fools "on the inside" better deal with from the US Department of Labor:

# Average hourly earnings of production workers in manufacturing were $16.80 in 2006, very near the average of $16.76 for production and nonsupervisory workers in all private industry.

Why in the hell would anyone worth anything work in an abusive and often dirty and toxic environment for about the same pay (often far less here) as anywhere else in the economy? Their biggest complaint is their best workers quit and go on to better jobs. Too bad, that's how capitalism works. In my view unless there's massive changes in social climate then a retirement community is all we will have left. 15,000 college graduates have fled just Southwest Virignia alone over the last 20 years. Throw in the East Tennessee side of Tri-Cities, it's about 35,000 or more.

Another problem they face is the endless plant closings and layoffs, just like shutdowns in the coal fields, many good workers refuse to return even for higher pay believing the job only temporary. In feilds such as nursing in this area, most leave the occupation after three years due to horrible labor conditions. Years of labor abuse are coming back to haunt them.

Housing

To quote the Bristol Herald Courier editorial July 31, 2005:

Buying that first home, the embodiment of the American dream, is becoming a struggle in Bristol...should not be confused with affordable. In fact, unless you just inherited a sack of money from a rich uncle, it can be a lengthy search. So forgive me if I'm not all that excited by the news that area home builders can't construct new homes in the $350,000-plus category, some would call them McMansions, fast enough to suit the well-heeled retirees moving to our area. How many Bristol area residents who are still working for a living can afford such a princely sum? Not many, as it turns out...

The following two published letters are in response to an affordable housing a controversy at Bristol Exit 7. The scene of massive (low-wage) retail development and upper class housing development. The locals were outraged at the idea of those that work at Exit 7 should live there. They see it as another version of Rice Terrace, the crime and drug ridden public housing a few miles away in Bristol Virginia. The local belief is if one is poor they deserve it or it's "God's will." There is a lot social segregation along income lines, and often a fundamentalist' religious element engrained in the culture having nothing to do with churches as such.

In the end the housing was built and as of August 2007 is near completion. Homepage for The Landmark Group: http://www.landmarkdevelopment.biz/cmt/100.html for more information on Mr. Rex Todd.

Build 1000 Apartments at Exit 7

Published Bristol Herald Courier September 2, 2006

For some time, I've kept silent about events in Bristol, hoping the new elected officials will change some of the nonsense. Here we go again: This housing business is a prime example of the social apartheid I put on my Web site. I work at Exit 7, and I'm glad to know as lower-paid white trash, I wouldn't be allowed to live there. Worst, I know several of the people in that crowd. This is not a conspiracy or any back room deals; it's a cultural problem nobody wants to talk about. Country music and NASCAR-hype can't cover the social rot and criminal indifference of this community towards lower-income residents.

Next, we are looking at another $2.5 million in debt at Bristol Virginia Utilities for Exit 7. I like Wes Rosenbalm and his staff; they're honest people. But the simple fact is this: The utility loaned almost $30 million to Optinet (not counting wasting millions in tobacco and economic development grants), then turned around and borrowed millions more for what they should have spent that money on, then shifted that cost onto utility customers. Yes it's legal, but it's still wrong.

And who got that expensive fiber-optic service? People who already had it available, while those of us that had no services got nothing except higher utility bills. It comes down to this: Why should the whole community be forced to pay for Exit 7 development, then be told most of us that work there are not fit to live there? If the trash people have to pay for Exit 7 and work there at depressed wage scales, we can live there, too. Build 1,000 apartments!

Lewis Loflin Bristol, Va.

'Sin' is not the root cause of poverty

Printed Tuesday, September 19, 2006 Bristol Herald Courier

The flap over the apartments at Exit 7 represents institutionalized class warfare and social apartheid. This derives from the type of Protestant-fundamentalist culture we have here. If one is poor, it's because they deserve it for some "sin." True in some cases, many times not.

Equally problematic is the secular view that blames every misfortune on some form of discrimination, while ignoring personal responsibility and merit.

Both views are not realistic. Did the almost 1,000 people who lost jobs at Bristol Compressors or the almost 300 at DANA act in some immoral fashion? It's bad luck and global economics. I'll bet a bunch of those folks would qualify today for those apartments. Those still employed I'll bet oppose it.

Another thing that bothers me is many of the move-in retirees are from here, but left because of bad economic conditions. Those conditions are worse today, yet they are mostly indifferent to those that did hang on and often built much of the community whose low standard of living enhances their retirement dollars. Depressed wages are good for business and consumers outside the loop.

Yes, there are some people around here that I wouldn't rent a doghouse to, but many are in this "working poor" through no fault of their own. Even college graduates in this place end up flipping the Bristol burger. These are the same people who refused to lift a finger when 50 families were expelled from Clear Creek Trailer Park.

Lewis Loflin Bristol, Va.

Job breakdown for Bristol, VA based on March 2002 data from the Virginia Employment Commission I did myself. This excludes high paid professional jobs (about 12%) such as doctors, lawyers, etc. By excluding those high paid occupations from being averaged into the general workforce, a true picture of earnings appears. 75% of the Bristol area workforce earns less than $8.00 an hour. It should also be noted the biggest sources of income in Bristol are transfer payments: welfare, social security, retirement, government, etc. Note the data in this form is no longer available and they refuse to say why. Also note data on major employers is blocked. They prefer broad averages, not specifics.

Job Category Percent of population Pay per week Per hour Yearly
Government 13% $584.00 $14.60 $30,368.00
Manufacturing 23% $300.00 $7.50 $15,600.00
Services 33% $240.00 $6.00 $12,480.00
Trade 19% $240.00 $6.00 $12,480.00

Part of the data above is based on a poll done by the VCEDA or the Virginia Coalfields Economic Development Association. Their poll showed perspective businesses how low labor rates really are and with the other state agencies handed out millions in taxpayer dollars, hope to lure new business to the depressed region. This is what the business types were supposed to see, not the public. I got this right off their website. When they found out (as I was told) it appeared on this website, they pulled it.

No decent skilled worker or college grad will work for this kind of pay. The result is a mass out-migration of skilled and educated workers. As the above Tarnoff report revealed, it's the poverty pay mentality. And who got the good jobs? The folks working for VCEDA, and scores of other useless state, local, and federal agencies get the good jobs. In the VCEDA area, that's about 23% of the population in 2005 according to the VEC and covers most private sector jobs in the region.

Wage Rates - Selected Industry Job Titles Average
General Production $7.24/hr.
Warehouse Technician $7.43/hr.
Secretary/Receptionist $5.50/hr.
Customer Service Rep. $6.18/hr.
Data Entry $6.00/hr.

Source: VCEDA Survey of local businesses, 2002 based on data before the massive downturn following September 11. There is no reason to believe it has gotten any better through January 2005. I'm in the process of updating the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) data.

Unemployment stats are really fun and are totally inaccurate. According to VEC, only those actively drawing unemployment compensation are treated as unemployed. Most benefits last about six months, so after six months unemployment goes down even if there are no jobs. This is further distorted by the way jobs are counted. The figures are inflated by counting every part time job held by children and retirees into the mix. A better indicator of employment is the poverty rate and the number of children on free and reduced lunches at school. In Bristol, 46% of children are on free/reduced lunches. This was up from 41% in 1995. Dickenson County had has held steady at 57% from 1995 to 2002. Dickenson County is all coal, while Bristol isn't coal at all. By the time we count in the massive loss of jobs in Bristol in 2003-2004, they should be near equal. Bristol and Dickenson County had the worst unemployment rates in early 2004, but the unemployment rate is much better six months later. The unemployment rate went down, I'd bet the poverty climbed and the population dropped again. ING Investments ranked Tri-Cities in general at an almost 24% poverty rate in 2001.

Same Old Story in 2005-6

"The Best Cities to Earn and Save Money," ING Investments in 2001 ranked the Bristol community tops as a retirement community, near the bottom in education and jobs.

ING Investments for some reason dropped its investment rankings about 2002, so that data is about five years old. But the Kingsport Times-News in November 8, 2005 announces, Tri-Cities ranks 77th nationwide as best place to live out of rankings for 331 metro regions. This is according to the 2005 Sperling's Best Places list. See www.bestplaces.net. The Tri-Cities is referred to as the Johnson-City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.

But ING defined 125 metro areas while Sperling defined 331. They show Tri-Cities ranked first in Tennessee beating out No. 103 Knoxville, No. 205 Nashville, No. 210 Chattanooga, and No. 304 Jackson. But the fact is Tennessee as a state on the national level ranks very low in education, income, etc. According to Sperling, "Health care ranked very high...a reasonable cost of living, pleasant climate, less traffic congestion and relatively low crime rates." This is all very true and ING ranked the region as one of the best retirement communities in 2001. But when I contacted Sperling and asked why they didn't figure in economic issues, they replied, "We can't track everything." Go to their website and one word stands out, "retirement."

And while local politicians applaud the rankings, a closer look reveals some troubling information. Tennessee ranked far below Virginia in general, and Tri-Cities ranks far below most of Virginia: Charlottesville, Va. - home to the University of Virginia - ranked No. 1; No. 7 Atlanta; No. 8 Asheville; No. 11 Roanoke; No. 13 Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.; No. 15 Lynchburg; No. 55 Richmond-Petersburg, Va.; and oddly No. 81 Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, N.C., a booming region was ranked lower. Asheville is a two hour drive from Bristol ranks No. 8, while nearby is No. 172 Wilmington, N.C. and No. 254 Hickory-Morganton, N.C.

But according to Jeff Fleming, assistant Kingsport city manager for development, "We typically score well in climate, cost of living, heath care and transportation. We lag in education attainment, arts and culture, and economy, but when you look at the big picture, we look very attractive from the outside." But form the inside is another matter.

While Sperling cares little for working class issues and more for retirement, they do reveal some terrible trends. The national per capita income is $21,658, but only $13,472 or almost 38% below the national average for Bristol, Virginia, while the cost of living is only 16% below the national average. National household income is $44,958, but for Bristol, Tennessee is $33,380 or 26% below the national average, while the cost of living is only 10% below the national average. For Bristol, Virginia household income is 32% below the national average. Jeff Fleming might be right, we look good from the outside. For years they have used our lower cost of living to justify low wage scales. Mexico has a very low cost of living too.


Winner Mr Hogg's Pork Award

Tobacco commission porks-out $14 million for regional economic development

The Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission approved more than $14 million in pork-barrel waste under the guise of "economic development" according to state Sen. William Wampler, R-Bristol. The commission met at Mountain Empire Community College, which like community colleges across the region, suffered a 5% budget cut because of shortfalls in Richmond. Among the idiotic projects they approved:

Another $6.1 million of a total $17 million to develop the so-called Southwest Virginia Artisan Center in Abingdon to be housed at Virginia Highlands Community College, whose academic programs also suffered budget cuts in 2007. Abingdon, about 14 miles from Bristol, is the wealthiest community in Southwest Virginia. Some studies they won't produce claim the 29,000-square-foot center "could attract" tourists. "It will house gallery space, retail areas and offices for The Crooked Road and the Round the Mountain artist organization." These organizations have so far produced nothing. In other words it's an expensive taxpayer funded crafts shop that has nothing to do with tobacco farmers getting new jobs.

My favorite part is, "create 202 jobs during the construction phase." But how about after the construction phase? The Scott County Economic Development Authority garnered $4.3 million to build the $7.2 Duffield Regional Technology Center that "has the potential to create 125 to 150 jobs." After years of these promises it's about time they deliver. Again it's more research into using coal for energy uses, which it already does. Duh. The Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center got $400,000 to develop an energy research and development program. Ref. BHC Oct 26, 2007

`Round the Mountain Celebrates One-Year Anniversary

2007-11-19 Kingsport Times-News extract.

ABINGDON, Va. November 8, 2007 In its first year, `Round the Mountain: Southwest Virginia's Artisan Network, an organization of artisans, agritourism and craft-related businesses, has grown to more than 200 members...`Round the Mountain was created in 2004, as a result of funding from Governor Mark Warner's Virginia Works Initiative and $100,000 in Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) funds...

For a $20-$40 annual membership fee, members are listed on the `Round the Mountain website www.roundthemountain.org in a web-based registry that is a searchable directory of artisans, galleries, studios, craft shops, farms, craft resources and craft events in the 19-county RTM region. Plus, each member who chooses to participate is featured on an individual profile page where they can include their contact information, hours of operation, a description of their work, their studio or farm, a photo, and other locations where their goods can be purchased or seen. Members can also be included in the rotating "Featured Member" feature on the 'Round the Mountain' website homepage...

Why is this is worth over $17 million of our tax dollars? For more information visit www.roundthemountain.org and ask them.

Stupid Government

If $17 million for a government funded crafts shop is stupid, there's more to come. Let's look at some examples:

Smoking ban costing some workers their jobs

Tennessee's nutty new smoking law will cost several worker their jobs. Any employee under 21 years old will be fired. The stupid state Department of Health made a decision to ban workers younger than 21 from working in smoking environments. Thus in the case Caitlin Grant,(20) and half the other workers at bars like the Electric Cowboy in Chattanooga, she gets the axe. To quote, "The bar continues to allow people to smoke inside by prohibiting anyone who is not at least 21 from entering, an exemption to the smoking ban." The company also has locations in Knoxville and Johnson City. Ref. Oct 06, 2007 AP

Sullivan County police sued over a pet pig

Sullivan County and three of its law enforcement officers are facing a $4.7 million when apparently they prevented Tim White and his wife Penny from rescuing a pig named "Fatty" from a Blountville house fire on Christmas Eve. According to police, "sheriff's deputy Joshua Ferguson tried to escort Penny White from the scene, she pushed him. And when an officer tried to arrest her, Tim White grabbed him by the jacket and continued to struggle. The couple was initially charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct. The charges were reduced to offensive touching when they pleaded no contest." The Whites got jailed on Christmas and felt this was unfair. Ref. 12/24/2007 AP

White is the co-founder of the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance and host of the PBS television series "Song of the Mountains." The Birthplace of Country Music Alliance recently hired a North Carolina firm to help raise $12 million for a cultural heritage center. They got an old building in building Bristol Virginia and thousands in tax dollars. They need another $10 million to fix the old building and another $2 million for the upkeep of this proposed "museum." At present they operate out of the Bristol Mall. Perhaps they could sell some cooked pork instead of receiving pork from the taxpayers.

Target illegals, not cigarette buyers

While illegal aliens flood into East Tennessee and are ignored, buy cigarette in Virginia and go to jail. In fact they have police patrolling the state line hunting for these violent criminals. The following from the local press says it all:

I read that Tennessee revenue collection was down the first month following implementation of the governor's cigarette tax increase. Sadly, the application of this irresponsible tax, in the face of well over a billion dollar revenue surplus, has caused Tennesseans to vote with their feet and go to Virginia to buy cigarettes, thus becoming "criminals" according to the governor and those legislators who supported his unnecessary and irresponsible tax. If they catch you with two cartons plus one pack of cigarettes, you can have your car confiscated and spend six months in jail. If you get caught with a couple of months' supply of cigarettes, you could lose your car, be made to pay a $3,000 fine, and be sent to jail for up to six years.

In the case of the felony charge, a mere $155.63 in tax savings is all it takes for you to be a felon. Wonder if this tax avoidance will also apply to tax savings experienced by grocery shoppers. Illegal is illegal, right governor? Isn't it time we deal with real crime and real criminals? These are serious times, and the governor should stop picking on Tennesseans and start protecting us from illegal immigrants who break laws, kill our children, bankrupt our medical system, and overburden our school systems. Irresponsible taxation makes criminals of hard-working Tennesseans, and the wasted revenue enforcement manpower could be better spent protecting all of us from illegal immigrants and the expense of paying for their abuse of our health and education systems. Ref. Tony, 10/13/2007 Kingsport Times-News.

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