There's still time to submit your ideas to SOAR

The conversation about economic transition in eastern Kentucky and Appalachia got a big boost on Monday as more than 1,500 people gathered in Pikeville for the SOAR Summit. Dozens of KFTC members participated, sounding the drumbeat for a just transition in the mountains and distributing ideas and literature with specific suggestions on the principles, process and policies that should guide that transition.

SOAR stands for Shaping Our Appalachian Region, a regional planning process announced in October by Governor Steve Beshear and U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers. The summit on December 9 in Pikeville was the first step in that process, which is already continuing this week as the organizers are taking more ideas to include in their report on the Summit.

If you have a great idea about what should be a piece of a just transition for Appalachia, you still have time to submit it to the SOAR Summit organizers.

Click here to submit your idea today.

The voices of eastern Kentuckians are highly encouraged, but as it was said from the stage on Monday, what is good for eastern Kentucky is good for all of Kentucky, and so anyone from anywhere is welcome to submit ideas. KFTC members from all over the state know that it will take democracy, and tax reform, and investment, and innovative ideas and work and much more to make change, and we all can speak up to raise a chorus for a bright future for eastern Kentucky, one that is good for all people.

If you need some guidance on a good idea to share, please visit KFTC’s webpage dedicated to the SOAR process, and scroll to the bottom to read our 14 point policy platform—a list of actions we think elected leaders can take to begin building a just transition. We've also pasted these ideas below.

Please submit your ideas here by the end of the week (12/14). 

Below are a set of public policies and positions that can be a part of building a bright future in eastern Kentucky, and across our commonwealth.

1) Create a new eastern Kentucky planning and development body that is inclusive and diverse to gather public input, shape regional development strategies, and make investment decisions.

2) Establish a long-term fund to invest in regional economic development strategies by setting aside a portion of annual severance tax revenues. Empower the regional planning body to invest these funds in key strategies and projects. 

3) Evaluate development ideas and proposals based on key criteria, and turn away ideas that worsen inequality, environmental conditions, or perceptions of cronyism. For example: does it create broad public benefit & opportunities, does it reduce leakage from our local economy & build on local assets, does it build local capacity & wealth, does it improve local economic & environmental conditions, does it create jobs for local residents rather than those outside the region, does it reduce inequality, does it promote innovation?

4) Increase investment in training and support for laid-off coal miners and their families and support the growth of worker co-ops and worker-owned small businesses.

5) Invest money from the Abandoned Mine Lands Fund in a large-scale effort to create hundreds of good jobs by restoring eastern Kentucky’s degraded land and streams.

6) Accelerate the growth of promising sectors (including local food systems, energy-efficient affordable housing, land and stream restoration, arts and culture, tourism, and renewable energy) by adopting public policies needed to grow those efforts to scale. A great place to start would be to establish a revolving loan fund to expand access to energy-efficient upgrades that can pay for themselves and create good jobs across the region.

7) Support state and federal energy efficiency and renewable energy standards that have a proven record of driving private investment, creating new jobs, saving customers money and energy, and creating positive economic ripple effects in 30 states, including Ohio and North Carolina.

8) Develop and support local leadership (including programs for youth, entrepreneurs, education and nonprofit leaders) by providing high-quality training programs, fellowships and other leadership experiences, access to capital, marketing and networking assistance, and more.

9) Support and enforce policies to protect the quality of our air, land and water, and improve public health. It’s time to recognize the economic and health benefits of clean air and water and support passage of environmental rules aimed at protecting our most precious asset – our health.  

10) Restore civic trust by eliminating corruption, cronyism and the tendency by those in power to use their public positions to benefit themselves and other well-connected individuals.

11) Support progressive tax reform at the state and national levels to increase investment in education, infrastructure, worker training, health care and other programs that make our communities good places to live and work

12) Reweave our social safety net by increasing support for programs that sustain people and families in times of need (including food stamps, health care and housing support) and programs that make it possible for people to improve their quality of life (including increased minimum wage, Pell Grants, child care assistance, early childhood programs, and access to affordable health care).

13) Commit to ongoing, rigorous improvements to K-12 education in Kentucky, including increased funding, renewed efforts to address inequality in funding, funding for quality preschool, wrap-around services for students in need, curriculum reform, and upgrades to teacher training and professional development.

14) Support and invest in efforts to improve public health and address the many serious health conditions facing Kentuckians.This includes supporting implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Kentucky, expanding access to high quality substance abuse and mental health treatment, investing in wellness programs and health education, and fully enforcing laws aimed at improving workplace safety and reducing toxic pollution.