When the Putin Puppet ran for office, he promised he would bring back coal jobs.  Is he going to do it?  The coal industry doesn’t seem to think so.

In this article from The Guardian, a coal executive named Robert Murray talks about how excited he is that the coal industry is going to be freed from all of those onerous regulations that keep them from destroying the environment for profit but he also makes clear that the jobs aren’t coming back and suggests 45 should “temper” expectations about coal mining jobs.

The jobs didn’t leave because of regulations.  The jobs left because of technology changes in the industry and competition from other sources of energy, most notably natural gas.  Actually, it’s Capitalism at it’s…um…best?  A better product is being offered for a better price.  If coal can’t match the benefits of other options, coal’s day has passed.

There’s a quote in this article that caught my eye: Mr Murray opines that, “We have to get the government out of the manipulation of energy markets.”  I know he believes it.  To a guy like him, the only people who should be “manipulating energy markets” are the masters of the fossil fuels.

I’ll tell you this: coal is yesterday’s news, like all of the fossil fuels.  I know they’re not going down without a fight but they’re going down and it’s not because of regulations.  It’s because there’s a better way, now…