Obama Keeps Promise to Bankrupt Coal Industry as James River Coal Co Files for Protection
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
While President Obama lied about ObamaCare he did keep one promise: to bankrupt the coal industry.
James River Coal Company just filed for bankruptcy.
James River is the second coal company to seek bankruptcy protection. Patriot Coal went bankrupt in 2012.
Despite the administration’s claims otherwise, Obama is waging a war against the coal industry through the regulatory actions of the EPA. The regulations are raising the cost of using coal for utilities which is forcing the power providers to close coal-fired electricity generating units.
It’s estimated that over 300 coal-based power unites will be closing because of EPA regulations and the agency’s proposed greenhouse gas rule will prevent construction of new coal power facilities.
The lack of demand for coal will translate to increasing cost pressures on the coal mining industry resulting in bankruptcies.
In its statement the Richmond, VA based company said:
“The coal markets in the U.S. have changed dramatically during the past several years. Some of these changes are cyclical due to continued weakness in the real economy. Other of the changes are more permanent like changes in government environmental regulations, improved methods to produce natural gas, and switching between coal basins by domestic power utilities. We have made a number of large and significant changes to our mine operations and administrative overhead in response to the changes in the coal markets. Now we need to adjust our balance sheet and debt structure to align ourselves to the new industry.”
For the first time in history the Executive Branch is bankrupting an entire industry and the harm will be felt by both the coal industry and consumers as electricity prices skyrocket.
Obama’s eagerness to bankrupt an entire industry is another example of a federal government that has gone wild.
