By Lewis Loflin
"It’s a little-known fact that roughly 20 percent of the children in Southwest Virginia live below the poverty line and go hungry every night." — Kevin Crutchfield, President, Alpha Natural Resources, January 15, 2009
Welcome to my website. Government spending inefficiencies and political corruption are widespread in this country, and I continue to address them because local press coverage is often limited.
Bristol, VA-TN, has many positives deserving recognition. Visitors often note the friendliness of locals, which I can confirm. My disabled wife receives exceptional kindness when out. However, there’s less concern for those at the economic bottom, with some viewing poverty as beneficial to those with wealth. This is a predominantly conservative, retirement-oriented community with a strong country music and NASCAR culture.
Job opportunities are limited, and while wages often range from $8-$12 per hour, a college education rarely improves this. Apartment rents have decreased but remain high relative to income. Up to 30,000 students attend colleges here—over 15,000 at East Tennessee State University and 1,833 at King College for Spring 2011—yet many graduates leave for better employment elsewhere. It’s a mixed picture.
Why Your College Degree is Worthless explores why thousands of local graduates face employer claims of a skills shortage, highlighting an educational disconnect. Extensive poverty and under-employment persist, and efforts to raise living standards have not succeeded. Social programs, while appreciated, can undermine traditional self-reliance. Inflation, both local and national, further complicates life for low-income residents, though avoiding crime and vice once offered a path forward.
Congressman Rick Boucher secured significant funding for the 2010 election but lost by 9,000 votes. Local Tea Party efforts and outside ads overcame his financial advantage, marking 2010’s biggest news story.
RAM returned to Bristol in 2010, likely setting a record in Wise, VA. Serving those unable to afford basic medical and dental care, RAM underscores the failure of roughly $1 billion in regional economic development spending—like $30 million for a music hall and $7 million for an unused energy research building—to benefit the needy. High poverty, low wages, and under-employment drive reliance on government programs, though dental care remains uncovered.
On October 9, 2010, RAM turned away over 1,000 of 900 Friday attendees, many employed but unable to afford dental or vision care due to low wages and high living costs. Services included hearing tests, mammograms, and more, but a volunteer shortage limited reach. The clinic saw 1,370 patients with 865 volunteers from 18 states, ending at noon Sunday.
Bristol’s reputation for high lodging prices during race weekends led hotels to lower rates ($199-$249/day, 30% less than 2010) and reduce minimum stays to two days for Bristol Motor Speedway’s March and August 2011 races (*BHC*, February 11, 2011). This followed a non-sellout Food City 500 in March 2010, the first since 1982, amid a tourism downturn. No significant reservation boost was reported.
Tri-Cities’ official poverty rate neared 20% in 2010 (posted October 12, 2010). Dollar General planned 6,000 jobs by 2012 with 625 new stores, having created 15,000 from 2009-2011, though Tri-Cities impact was unclear (posted January 4, 2011). Local restaurants, like Hardees at Exit 5, saw low traffic despite deals ($5 for two cheeseburgers, fries, pie, drink), per an informal February 14, 2011 survey.
A visitor from Georgia noted empty eateries compared to Atlanta, with Outback Steak House at Exit 7 closed at lunch despite signage. Bristol, VA, lost 25% of private-sector jobs per 2010 census data, relying on meals and lodging taxes as tourism faltered. A $2.5 million speculative land deal at Exit 7 failed, sold for $700,000, leaving a vacant lot (*$2.5 Million Tax Dollars Down a Rathole*).
Stretching Your Dollar: Feeding Yourself on a Budget in SWVA - Practical tips for eating affordably in Southwest Virginia.
New for 3/28/2025 Food City’s $6 Million Payoff, Opioid Settlements, and Social Apartheid’s New Face in Southwest Virginia.
Lewis Loflin Personal Homepage and Resource Collection
Common Sense Environmentalism - Life in rural Washington County, Virginia.
Climate Change Impacts on the Byzantine Roman Empire - Analyzes how climate shifts influenced the decline of the Byzantine Empire.
Climate Change and the End of the Vikings in Greenland - Examines how cooling climates contributed to the Viking abandonment of Greenland.
Climate Change and the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island - Investigates the role of climate in the disappearance of the Roanoke Colony.
Whale Fossils Reveal a Past Ice-Free Northwest Passage - Highlights evidence of historical climate shifts through whale fossil discoveries.
Shockingly Rapid Climatic Shifts are Real - Discusses evidence of rapid, natural climate changes throughout history.
Hypsithermal Warming Spreads Civilization - Explores the Mid-Holocene Warm Period’s (approximately 7000 BCE to 3000 BCE) role in advancing early human civilizations.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.
