President Obama Delivers on His Promise to Bankrupt Coal Industry

In 2008, Obama vowed to "bankrupt" the coal industry by imposing massive fines on greenhouse gas emissions. Well, in fact, six of America's largest public coal mining companies, including Walter Energy, James River, Patriot Coal, Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal, and Peabody Energy have all filed for bankruptcy over the past 2 years destroying billions in shareholder value and leaving thousands of people unemployed in Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.  Per BLS data, coal-mining jobs in the U.S. peaked around 90,000 at the end of Obama's first term but have since declined by over 42% to around 50,000 as mining companies have filed for bankruptcy and shutteredmines. By the way, the median coal-mining job pays $21.63/hour. But you say, look at all the jobs the economy has created since 2008.  Yes, bartenders and waitresses at $7.25/hour, which equates out to be a 66% decline in disposable personal income.