How the New Deal created a "new era" of improved sanitation in West Virginia; and how we're forbidden to know about it today

Above: The Works Progress Administration (WPA) carried out sanitation projects all across the United States, and especially in rural areas. These projects included mosquito control, mine sealing, sanitary privy construction (sanitary privies replaced poorly constructed outhouses), and the clean-up of polluted streams. As this map shows, all of West Virginia benefited from some type of sanitation improvement. Also, keep in mind that this map shows projects only through June 30, 1936 - only one year into the eight year existence of the WPA. Map from an October 1936 WPA report.

Above: By the end of its program, the WPA had installed 308 miles of new storm and sanitary sewer lines in West Virginia, and nearly a quarter of a million sanitary privies. This work helped reduce the incidence and death rate for typhoid fever, a disease that thrives in areas with poor sanitation. It also helped reduce other diseases, e.g., dysentery and hookworm. Graph from 1938-1940 Biennial Report of the State Health Department of West Virginia.

Above: In addition to the WPA's work, the New Deal's Public Works Administration (PWA) built large sewage disposal plants all across the country. Map from America Builds: The Record of PWA, 1939.

Above: Here is the West Virginia section of the map, showing 12 large sewage disposal plants constructed in the state by PWA. Many of these were built near rivers--such as the Bluestone, Ohio, and Big Sandy rivers--and helped prevent raw sewage from entering waterways.

Above: In its 1936-1938 biennial report, West Virginia's Health Department explained how the PWA's sanitation assistance marked "the beginning of a new era in West Virginia" and how the WPA's work had improved the cleanliness of West Virginia's streams (pp. 173-174). The important point here is that West Virginia is telling us, from the past, how to fix sanitation problems. Keep this in mind as you continue below. Image above courtesy of Hathitrust.

Above: In its 2020 infrastructure report card for West Virginia, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave West Virginia's wastewater infrastructure a "D" letter grade, noting insufficient funding, aging & deteriorating systems, and the "discharge of untreated wastewater" into streams and rivers. In its recommendations section, the ASCE makes no mention of the New Deal. Why not? Just two sentences would've been nice, for example, "During the New Deal, tremendous improvements were made to West Virginia's sanitation infrastructure, as noted by the state's health department. Similar solutions should be considered today." In other words, let people know that we have faced this problem before and solved it! (or at least, greatly improved it). Image above from the ASCE, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: In this screenshot, from the video, "Sewage smell concerns neighbors in Fayette County" (WSAZ News Channel 3, July 2023), we see raw sewage coming up from the ground and into a local waterway. This has been going on in West Virginia for years, and still does. See, for example, "Raw sewage still impacting parts of Fayette County, leaders ask for answers," 13 WOWK News, December 5, 2024; "Reports show pre-flood sewage issues in Cannelton; 'Band-Aid' fix being considered," Charleston Gazette-Mail, March 20, 2025 (subscription might be required); and "West Virginia town’s residents concerned over raw sewage flooding homes," 13 WOWK News, July 10, 2024. Image above used for educational and non-commercial purposes.

The New Deal cleaned us up. Trickle-down economics has us walking through each other's poop (literally, read below). And yet, no one wants to talk about New Deal solutions. 

In 2022, an elderly resident of Huntington, West Virginia discussed raw sewage periodically ending up in her yard after storms: "I mean it is dangerous, it is nasty, it’s got poop, tampons, it’s got toilet paper in it. It is nasty... Sometimes I’ve got to walk through it and when I do I go straight to the bathroom and get in the shower, I don’t want that stuff on my feet" ("Decades of neglect of Huntington, West Virginia, sewer system leads to urgent need for action," 13 WOWK News, December 16, 2022).

In 2015, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reported that the "director of the West Virginia Water Research Institute, Paul Ziemkiewicz said the biggest threat in water supplies in southern West Virginia (and many areas in the state) by a long shot is raw sewage. 'Any contaminant you can think of pales in comparison to raw, untreated sewage,' Ziemkiewicz said. We’re talking about bacteria, parasites, and viruses that can cause short-term problems like diarrhea, eye infections, respiratory infection, and long-term problems like cancer, Dementia, and diabetes. And there are growing concerns about potential illnesses or effects from exposure to pharmaceuticals and synthetic hormones introduced through sewage" ("Is There Something in the Water, Southern W.Va.?" WVPB, January 15, 2015).

Recall that back in the day West Virginia's Health Department praised a "new era" of improved sanitation in West Virginia, thanks to federal funds, especially from WPA and PWA. Raw sewage was being prevented from entering streams (if not entirely, then at least at a much lower rate), and disease was being curtailed. But almost no one wants to discuss that today. Not reporters, not policymakers, not the American Society of Civil Engineers, not think tanks, not citizens, not academics... hardly anyone.

Isn't it ASTOUNDING that West Virginia told us what worked for them... and showed results... and still no one wants to talk about it?? Instead, we just keep fumbling along, cutting budgets and giving tax breaks to the rich (in the never-ending, and never-fulfilled, hope that their miraculous investments will lead us to the Promised Land). 

The Biden (or "Bipartisan") Infrastructure Plan started us on a better path, but Democrats did a horrible job of highlighting its accomplishments and most voters don't seem to even know what's going on with it (see, for example, "Why a Biden-Harris Win Barely Registers on the Campaign Trail," Governing, August 6, 2024).

Now that America has fully embraced oligarchy, you can forget about a modern New Deal, at least for the foreseeable future. During these next several years, the rich will buy more mega-yachts, the little people will walk in each other's poop, and America will scratch its collective head and ask, "Golly gee, why are things so messed up?"

The New Deal distributed food to West Virginians in need. Trump's USDA is stopping such distribution, to facilitate tax cuts for the rich.

Above: Here we see West Virginia benefiting from the New Deal's Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation (FSCC) in 1936. We also see the three primary benefits of the FSCC: the removal of surplus produce in order to increase income for farmers (large surpluses depress prices to an unsustainable degree); improved diets (more vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc.); and the reduction of waste. The image above is part of a longer newspaper article in The Independent-Herald (Hinton, West Virginia), June 23, 1937, and newspapers.com, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: In 1938, Maine potatoes were added to the diets of many West Virginians, courtesy of the New Deal's FSCC. Potatoes are packed full of nutrition. See, e.g., "All About Potatoes," Maine Potato Board. The above image is part of a longer newspaper article in The Independent-Herald (Hinton, West Virginia), May 18, 1938, and newspapers.com, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Also in 1938, low-income residents of McDowell County, West Virginia, received Florida oranges. Image from The McDowell Times (Keystone, West Virginia), March 4, 1938, and newspapers.com, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: This article excerpt shows how surplus purchasing by the New Deal helped West Virginia apple growers. The above image is part of a longer newspaper article in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (Bluefield, West Virginia), and newspapers.com, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: A chart from the fiscal year 1940 report of the FSCC, p. 8 (after it became part of USDA), showing pounds of food distributed, and number of people served, for West Virginia and other states and territories.

Above: This chart, also from the 1940 report, p. 8, shows pounds of food distributed to schools, and the number of schools and children served.

Above: This section of the 1940 report, from p. 2, gives some more information, e.g., volume and operation details, about the FSCC's contribution towards school lunches across the United States.

Above: This is from the FSCC's fiscal year 1936 report, p. 16, showing types of surplus foods distributed to West Virginians in need of assistance.

Trump's USDA is cutting off food assistance for West Virginia

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel is reporting that "The USDA recently announced $1 billion in cuts to two programs that enable schools and food banks to buy products from local farmers. One is the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) for states to buy local agricultural products to serve feeding programs, including food banks and organizations that reach underserved communities." ("USDA program cuts affect West Virginia farmers," March 19, 2025).

Trump's USDA told West Virginia farmers, and other American farmers, that the program "no longer effectuates agency priorities and that termination of the award is appropriate." ("How recent USDA cuts will affect West Virginia farmers," WBOY-TV News, March 13, 2025).

A West Virginia farmer responded to the cuts by saying, "DOGE was put in place to cut federal waste dollars. We don’t believe that the access to local, healthier food to kids or those facing hunger falls into that category. Anybody that does: This is morally wrong on many levels."

What the farmer may or may not realize is that, to the billionaire class, any governmental assistance to low-income Americans is wasteful. And since our federal government is now run by billionaires and billionaire donors, well, bye bye USDA funding. Billionaires prefer tax cuts. Tax cuts help purchase mega-yachts, private islands, and luxury doomsday bunkers. 

Many right-wingers would respond, of course, by saying: "Once we give more tax cuts to the rich they'll invest more, and then everyone will have a great job with great benefits, and then people won't need government assistance anymore."

This is the same trickle-down myth that has misled America for half-a-century. And the falsity of trickle-down economics is highlighted by the simple fact that economic desperation continues (indeed, is worse) for tens of millions of Americans, even after the gargantuan, dynastic, and supposedly utopia-creating tax cuts of Reagan, Bush Jr., and Trump.

Many working-class Americans don't seem to understand that investors don't give a crap about the robustness of working-class jobs. They'd just as soon send those jobs overseas, or engage in stock buybacks, or increase executive compensations packages, or simply fill their mansions with ever-increasing dividends. So why are we voting for politicians who want to give these people even more tax cuts? Additionally, the idea that the 1% don't already have enough money to invest to their heart's delight is ludicrous.

Obeisance to the rich = economic turmoil and unhealthy diets for the working-class. The New Deal did better for West Virginia... and the rest of America. Let's do another New Deal.

West Virginia lawmakers just voted to increase pollution in the state's waterways. By contrast, the New Deal provided West Virginians with clean drinking water.

Above: The New Deal had thousands of projects to improve America's drinking water. Here is a map showing waterworks projects of the Public Works Administration (PWA), 1933-1939. From America Builds: The Record of PWA, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1939.

Above: Here is a close-up of the West Virginia portion of the previous map, showing 49 PWA drinking water improvement projects. In addition to the PWA's projects, other New Deal programs, such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA), improved West Virginia's drinking water infrastructure, for example, by installing water mains. And the WPA helped clean West Virginia's waterways by sealing old mines. Also, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) improved West Virginia's waterways by, among other things, planting over 26 million trees (see "Why we’re obsessed with nature’s water TREEtment plants. From roots to stem, clean water is not possible without healthy trees." Potomac Conservancy, March 8, 2022).

Above: This newspaper article details how PWA waterworks allowed the town of Ripley, West Virginia to remove its "unsafe drinking water" signs. It also lists some of the other West Virginia towns receiving New Deal drinking water assistance. From The Charleston Daily Mail (Charleston, West Virginia), April 7, 1935, and newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: In its 2020 infrastructure report card for West Virginia, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave the state's drinking water a "D" letter grade, and also noted that about a quarter-of-a-million West Virginians drink water that is out of compliance with the nation's Safe Drinking Water Act. This squares with a 2019 study by three environmental groups, finding that 36 of West Virginia's 55 counties have some of the worst drinking water in the nation ("Study Finds West Virginia Counties Among ‘Worst in Nation’ For Drinking Water Violations," West Virginia Public Broadcasting, September 25, 2019). Image above from the ASCE, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

The West Virginia House of Delegates Just Voted to Make Bad Drinking Water Even Worse

Against a backdrop of bad drinking water sources & infrastructure, the West Virginia House of Delegates recently voted "yes" on an industry-backed bill to increase water pollution... by, essentially, playing games with "drinking water designation" (see, e.g., "WV House overwhelmingly OKs industry-backed measure to allow increased water pollution," Coal Valley News (Danville, West Virginia), March 13, 2025). 

And so, this is the inevitable result of (a) Democrats abandoning the New Deal in favor of hyper-identity politics (alienating much of rural America), (b) Republicans favoring the moneyed-few over the public's health & safety, and (c) voters being marinated in right-wing disinformation for decades. 

A + B + C = brown drinking water... with toxic chemicals added for flavor. Yum.

Women's History Month: 10 Ways That American Women Helped Defeat Fascism During World War II

The U.S. Defense Department has canceled observance of Women's History Month (and other "identity months," as it calls them). This is a shame, since these months prompt us to remember history that is often forgotten or overlooked. So, in recognition of Women's History Month, I have compiled 10 ways that women helped defeat fascism during World War II:

1. Building & Repairing Airplanes & Ships

Above: The description for this 1942 photograph reads: "Women workers install fixtures and assemblies to a tail fuselage section of a B-17F bomber at the Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. Better known as the 'Flying Fortress,' the B-17F is a later model of the B-17 which distinguished itself in action in the South Pacific, over Germany and elsewhere. It is a long range, high altitude heavy bomber, with a crew of seven to nine men, and with armament sufficient to defend itself on daylight missions." Photo by Alfred T. Palmer, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Above: The description for this photo, taken ca. 1941-1943, reads, "NYA girl preparing to become an air mechanic in a workshop in South Charleston, West Virginia." "NYA" refers to the New Deal's National Youth Administration. The NYA trained many Rosie the Riveters and Wendy the Welders. Photo from the National Archives.

Above: The description for this 1943 photograph reads, "Bethlehem-Fairfield shipyards, Baltimore, Maryland. Women arc welder[s] in the pipe shop during lunch hour." According to an article on the wesbite of the Baltimore Museum of Industry, "Between 1941 and 1945, the Fairfield yard built a total of 384 Liberty ships, more than any other shipyard in the nation. The yard also built 94 Victory ships--the larger, faster cousin to the Liberty ships--and 45 LSTs (Landing Ship-Tank), making it one of America’s most productive wartime shipyards." Photo by Arthur S. Siegel, Farm Security Administration, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

2. Munitions Production

Above: The description for this 1943 photograph reads: "Production. Shell loading. On the 'firing line' of a large Midwest loading plant, artillery shells soon to batter the Axis are sprayed with olive drab paint. This woman is a sprayer, but women also do the 'puddling' of TNT in shells better than men. For 'puddling,' the stirring and packing of TNT in shells, is done much as a housewife prepares dough for cake. Ravenna ordnance plant." Photo from the U.S. Office of War Information, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

3. The WAVES and the SPARS

Above: Frances Wills (left) and Harriet Pickens join the WAVES in 1944. The National Park Service explains that "During World War II, the United States Navy created a branch of the Naval Reserve to enlist women, known as the WAVES (an acronym for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Approximately 100,000 women served in the WAVES over the course of the war. They performed a variety of jobs, from clerical work and storekeeping, to weather forecasting and navigation, to hospital work, to engineering." Photo above courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command, and from the article, "'We Made It, Friend': The First African American Female Officers in the US Navy" (The National WWII Museum).

Above: The Coast Guard had their female contingent too, the SPARS (an acronym based on the Coast Guard song "Semper Paratus - 'Always Ready'"). The Coast Guard notes that "While traditional clerical work represented the bulk of the ratings for SPARS, many worked in other specialized fields. Billets for SPARs included parachute riggers, chaplains assistants, air control-tower operators, boatswains mates, coxswains, radiomen, ship's cooks, vehicle drivers and many more. For instance, a small group of women became pharmacist's mates. Those with prior practical nursing or medical experience were assigned as assistants in sick bays." Photo from the U.S. Coast Guard.

4. Women's Army Corps

Above: The first Japanese American woman to join the Women's Army Corp (WAC). The National WWII Museum explains that members of WAC worked "as switchboard operators, stenographers, mechanics, drivers, and other essential noncombat positions. Some, though the number was small, were scientists and engineers on the Manhattan Project." The Associated Press photo above is from The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, Oregon), January 7, 1944, and newspapers.com; used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Carmen Contreras Bozak was the first Hispanic woman to join the Women's Army Corp (see, e.g., "Carmen Contreras Bozak, Technician 4th Grade, U.S. Army," Foundation for Women Warriors). And before her World War II service she worked in the New Deal's National Youth Administration (NYA). Many Hispanic women (and men) served in various capacities to help America defeat fascism during World War II. Photo from U.S. Army, U.S. Latino and Latina World War II Oral History Project, and Wikipedia.

5. Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)

Above: Dr. Ella Wagner, of the National Park Service, explains that "After graduation, WASP pilots went on to fly essential missions for the AAF. They transported thousands of planes from the factories that built them to the military bases that sent them to the front, a process known as 'ferrying.' They towed canvas banners behind their planes to serve as targets for gunnery practice. They instructed male trainee pilots. And they served as test pilots, volunteering for the dangerous work of trying out aircraft that were new or that had been damaged and repaired." Photo from the U.S. Air Force.

Above: Hazel Ying Lee was the first Chinese American WASP. Tragically, she died when a control tower had problems communicating with another plane that had radio problems. She was remembered as a skilled pilot with a great personality and sense of humor. For more information, see "Women Airforce Service Pilot Hazel Ying Lee," The National WWII Museum. Photo from the U.S. Air Force.

Above: Part of a larger newspaper article about WASP pilots, and their oft-times dangerous work (for example, towing cloth for anti-aircraft target practice!). From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri), October 27, 1943, and newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

6. United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve

Above: Three American Indian women of the Women's Reserve of the U.S. Marine Corps (WRMC), ca. 1945. Minnie Spotted Wolf, on the left, was the first American Indian recruit of the WRMC. A 1994 article by Colonel Mary V. Stremlow (United States Marine Corps Reserve - Retired) shows that women in the WRMC worked in many capacities, including scientists, musicians, stenographers, airplane mechanics, and in protective services. Marine Corps photo above from Indians in the War 1945, a U.S. Office of Indian Affairs publication.

7. Home Defense Organizations

Above: Women's Home Defense units popped up all across America during World War II. These volunteer women planted victory gardens, sent books, food, and care packages to soldiers abroad, and engaged in considerable salvage operations (see, e.g., "New High Set In Fats Drive," The Daily Republican (Monongahela, Pennsylvania), February 10, 1944, p. 1, reporting on a Women's Home Defense unit collecting 30,151 pounds of waste fat. Waste cooking fat was used for munitions production). WPA poster above courtesy of the Library of Congress.

8. Food Production

Above: The Women's Land Army of America helped boost crop production and harvesting for both civilian and military purposes. See, e.g., Judy Barrett Litoff and David C. Smith, "'To the Rescue of the Crops': The Women’s Land Army During World War II," Prologue Magazine (National Archives), Vol. 25, No. 4 (Winter 1993). Image from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Above: Sara Lossie, Cherokee Indian, works to increase wartime crop yield on a Cherokee farm in North Carolina. From Indians at Work, U.S. Office of Indian Affairs publication, July-August-September, 1942 edition.

Above: Sisters of the Soil, by Patricia H. Wilkins (McClain Printing Co., 2017), tells the story of young West Virginia women recruited to harvest wartime crops near Lake Erie, in Ohio, and the Chesapeake Bay, in Maryland. Image scanned from a personal copy of the book.

9. Recreation Services

Above: The description for this 1942 photograph reads, "'Corporals,' who are young WPA recreation leaders serve as camp hostesses at the Army's recreation center at Lake Pontchartrain. Wearing uniforms made by WPA sewing project are, left to right, Lyle Carter, Dorothy Morrison, Marion Donnelly, and Rosalie Chuter. They direct soldiers to parties and points of interest about [New Orleans]." The Final Report on the WPA Program, 1935-1943 explains that these type of WPA workers also led recreational activities, and that many of them later worked for the United Service Organizations (USO), a non-profit that still provides entertainment for America's soldiers today. Image above by an unknown photographer, scanned from a private copy, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

10. Nursing

Above: U.S. Army nurses, 1944. The description for this photograph reads, in part, "Twenty-four of the first contingent of Negro nurses assigned to the European Theater of Operations." These nurses came from Georgia, Virginia, Oklahoma, California, and many other states. For more information, see the National Park Service web page, "Military Nurses During World War II." Photo by the U.S. Signal Corps, provided courtesy of the Library of Congress.

West Virginia's appalling & life-threatening secondary roads: The job-creation road not taken.

Above: This is a secondary road in Mineral County, West Virginia. It is a mess. Driving over it will make your teeth chatter like an old typewriter. According to the 2020 West Virginia Infrastructure Report Card, put together by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), "the repaving cycle for secondary roads is approaching a 33-year cycle, nearly two decades beyond the ideal 12-year cycle. This means that a secondary road, a road supplementing a main road, paved today will not be repaved for another 30 years" (p. 34). So, instead of proper repaving, patches are used, as you see here. And then, when patches break apart, another patch is put in, creating a wonderfully violent ride. Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: There is plenty of alligator cracking on this secondary road. Alligator cracking eventually crumbles, creating potholes that need patched. But then more alligator cracking appears, including in the patches themselves, thus requiring more patches. And since this road may not be repaved for decades, it may need hundreds or even thousands of patches. The ASCE notes that "Driving on these rough roads is costing West Virginia motorists $758 million every year, which amounts to $647 per driver, in the form of increased Vehicle Operating Costs (VOC)" (p. 34). Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: Here, you can see how alligator cracking has completely devoured a patching job (see the remnants of the patch in the upper-right of the damaged road section). Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: Here's another problem with this and other secondary roads: Trees bowing over the roadway, waiting for just the right time to drop and pulverize someone's car or, at the least, cause a lengthy detour until it's cleaned up. Wouldn't it be nice to have a new WPA, or just more road funding, to cut these trees down - instead of relying on auto insurance and funeral caskets? Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: Here's a close-up of the previous tree. It doesn't look long for this world. Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: Here are some more trees, left and right, leaning over the road. Pay particular attention to the tall pine tree, and now look at the next photo. Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: Do I even need to explain the problem here? Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: The big dark tree on the right is dead (no leaf production in the Spring) and runs horizontally over the road. In the lower right, you see the remnants of a tree that recently fell across the road, an increasingly frequent occurrence over the past two years. Some residents in the area keep chainsaws in their vehicles, because they know they may have to use them to get to work or home on any given day. The common good? Bah humbug, it's now every man or woman for his or her self! Photo by Brent McKee 2025.

Above: Here's another thing on this secondary road to make you bounce around in your car like a popcorn kernel in microwave popcorn bag: roughly done culvert backfills. Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: Here's another culvert on the road, with bumpy backfill and also clogged with leaves. Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: Sometimes the edges of the road fall apart. And since secondary roads are narrow, crossing paths with another vehicle suddenly (for example, around a blind curve) can be dicey; you may have to choose between side-swiping that vehicle or running your car into the gutter. The ASCE notes: "In 2018 alone, West Virginia had a traffic fatality rate of 16.3 fatalities per 100,000 people, which was much higher than the national average of 11.2. This trend of a high fatality rate is particularly significant on West Virginia’s rural roads which had a fatality rate of 2.55 fatalities per 100 million VMT compared to 0.97 across all other roads in the state. Motor vehicle crashes, in which roadway design was likely a contributing factor have cost West Virginia motorists $534 million per year in the form of medical costs, productivity loss, travel delays and insurance costs" (p. 37). Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: In this area of the road, a good-sized branch (in the foreground) has broken and is hanging above the roadway. If you look closely, you will see a power line running through the tangled mess. Maybe it will come down someday. Oh well, nothing wrong a some high voltage to go with that morning coffee, as your driving to work, right? Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: Lest you think I'm cherry-picking a road to make a point, nope, crappy West Virginia roads can be found all across the state. Image from the American Society of Civil Engineers, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: West Virginia isn't doing any better with its other infrastructure. Image from the American Society of Civil Engineers, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Crappy infrastructure has been normalized in West Virginia, but it doesn't have to be. Here is a bridge replacement project in Grant County, showing what a good deal West Virginia is getting from federal funds. We could do more of this, if we prioritized infrastructure over tax cuts for the rich. For some strange reason though--a reason that I will never understand, not even on my death bed (which might be soon if that power line falls on my car), Americans seem perfectly fine with America's billionaires buying private islands, mega-yachts, and gold-plated toilets... while the nation's roads, dams, and bridges fall apart. I'm sorry, but... that's extremely messed up. Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: The federally-funded bridge project in Grant County, West Virginia. More of this--over the past many decades--could have provided loads and loads of good-paying jobs to West Virginians displaced by manufacturing job losses. Instead, we scolded them into taking lower-paying dead-end jobs, while  repeatedly handing out gargantuan tax cuts to the 1%, who, in many cases, had profited from the loss or offshoring of manufacturing jobs! How dumb was that? Photo by Brent McKee, 2025.

Above: This image is from a 2024 West Virginia Division of Highways report, and shows the importance of federal funds (note: in West Virginia, the state's Division of Highways takes care of county roads too, e.g., secondary roads). But with the Trump Administration slowing down, or perhaps even unconstitutionally terminating some or most federal infrastructure funding, in order to pay for tax cuts for the rich, it's quite possible that West Virginia will be receiving much less help for its crumbling roads and bridges. To make matters worse, West Virginia's Republican Governor Patrick Morrisey supports federal funding freezes (!) while, at the same time, manages a state budget shortfall. Can you see the complete lunacy of the situation? West Virginia roads crumble; both federal and state funding are in a chokehold; and all the while America's millionaires & billionaires are living increasingly luxurious lives - sipping Martinis by the pool and waiting for their next round of cherished tax cuts.

A Better, New Deal Way

We could, of course, improve our roads with a New Deal-style initiative. In West Virginia, WPA workers built, repaired, or improved 20,514 miles of highways, roads, and streets; and did the same with 1,693 bridges (creating tons of jobs). However, to repeat a New Deal-style of initiative would require that West Virginians, and the rest of America, prioritize economic issues over cultural issues when they go to the ballot box. It would require Republican politicians to end their obsession with coddling the rich, and it would require Democratic politicians to tone-down identity politics and ramp-up a more broad working-class politics.

If not--if we continue going down this divisive, plutocratic, and authoritarian road, where the Dems ignore the rurals and the rurals seek to "own the libs"--then I suppose West Virginia's 33-year repavement schedule will increase to 50-years... and then to a sort of "the heck with it, why even bother?" approach.