[Josh Martin]

In this post, Hartmann discusses the alarming inequality in West Virginia as well as the extreme poverty many families face in the coal-reliant state.  Hartmann acknowledges coal’s importance to the state by suggesting implementing a program similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund, which distributes a dividend funded by taxes on its oil reserves to each citizen of Alaska every year in the form of an unconditional cash transfer, making it a form of a universal basic income.  As Alaskans benefit from their state’s massive oil reserves, Hartmann thinks West Virginians should benefit from its coal business.

Thom Hartmann, “What West Virginia can learn from Sarah Palin”, Thom Hartmann Program, 7 July 2014.

Thom Hartmann

Thom Hartmann