The governor of West Virginia ordered all coal mines within the state shut down until their safety could be evaluated in light of four tragic accidents that left 16 dead since the beginning of the year. While it sounds good to many who have suddenly become causeheads against underground mining despite being almost completely ignorant of the practice, it is yet another example of political correctness run amuck and of the error of acting mainly on emotions.

You see, apparently in the issuance of the edict, the governor ignored the thousands of families who would be put out of work by this order (ironically in contradiction with the liberal manifesto of creating jobs), and of the service sector that would be hurt by the unemployment rise. Cars won't be sold because the miners have no idea when they will return to work, restaurants will lose business, and no doubt a number of the families will line up to apply for government aid. Not to mention the fact that coal is almost certainly guaranteed to rise significantly in price due to West Virginia's status as one of the leading coal mining status. The net result is that energy prices will likely rise even higher. And the mine owners, saddled with the almost inevitable increased costs of production, will likely face the choice to either shut down, reduce wages (resulting in an almost certain strike and further unemployment), or reduce the workforce, resulting in a net loss of jobs.

As I have said before, there is no way you can make underground mining 100 percent safe. Absolutely none. And what seems politically expedient, in this case, may have a devastating impact on the economy of an already impoverished region.