re: #107 iossarian

Yup. You could also look at ex-coal mining communities in other parts of the world: north-east England and Wales spring to mind.

In the short term, infrastructure projects could potentially ease the transition. But anyway, the broader point is that we should be thinking about these populations in much the same way as they think about other groups that have been caught in a poverty/lack of jobs/substance abuse/crime cycle.

Know what this sounds like? It sounds like the discussion we were having the other day on the problems of creating a totally socialized medical system without considering the consequences to the current health care workers.