CHARLESTON -- The federal government implemented many changes to wage its War on Poverty in 1964, pushing social programs to help alleviate the burden of impoverished citizens.

It has been almost a half a century since the wave of government-backed programs hit West Virginia in 1965, yet poverty remains. Many in poverty blame policymakers.

Mingo County resident Eric Maynard said he is fed up with the promises of hope that fall through from the state government.

"They ought to be ashamed of themselves for allowing people to feel like they are forgotten," Maynard said.

So what are policymakers doing to improve the living conditions of West Virginia residents?

Why do they believe poverty persists in southern West Virginia?

Expanding Skill Sets

Gov. Joe Manchin said he acknowledges that poverty is still a major issue in West Virginia, and he believes education is the way to combat it.

"There is too much poverty in this state, and the only way we can end it is to help people take a hold of their lives," Manchin said.

"Skill sets need to improve, and that is going to take every able-bodied person to get a college education or the training to enhance those skill sets."

Manchin said he understands that not every person is manipulating the system to get by. He said those are the people who truly need government programs to survive, but others need to have the hope of self-reliance -- and that may mean changes in the current welfare system.

"The hard part about it is when you talk reform, you cannot put a 'one-size-fits-all' tag on it," he said.

Manchin said since he has been in office, he has taken several initiatives to help fight poverty. Manchin cited the move to cut the food tax from 6 percent to 3 percent as having benefited every family in the state. He also said he has expanded the clothing voucher to $200 per child to help with back-to-school clothing.

Manchin said the state has revamped the personal tax code to the point that most living in poverty are paying little or no taxes at all. He said he is proud of the state's Children's Health Insurance Program. The program has been around for several years, and nearly every child in the state is covered by CHIP or Medicare, according to Manchin.

"It is initiatives such as CHIP that truly help people directly," Manchin said.

Broadband Opens up the World

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said passing legislation to expand broadband to every nook and cranny of Appalachia, including West Virginia, could help alleviate poverty. He said Internet access will open the state to all kinds of opportunities, including the international market.

"I am currently in a massive fight for broadband," Rockefeller said.

Rockefeller said the best example of the impact the Internet can have was the story of a McDowell County girl who wanted to study Japanese. The language is not offered in the McDowell County school system, so she took courses online through the University of Nebraska.

"I invited her to come and speak at a forum where I was at talking about the importance of Internet expansion," Rockefeller said. "I knew it would blow people away."

Rockefeller said she stood up on stage and started speaking Japanese with Rockefeller, who speaks the language fluently.

"It was powerful stuff to see a girl from McDowell County carry on a conversation in a language she had learned from the opportunity from the Internet," Rockefeller said.

Rockefeller said more work needs to be done to combat poverty, but progress has been made.

Rockefeller cited the CHIP program, his fight for Medicaid, the federal Earned Income Credit and expansion of food stamp programs.

Despite advances in government programs, Rockefeller said more needs to be done to diversify the economy.

Rockefeller said he is a firm believer that many communities stifle much-needed development because of a "Founding Father complex."

"They think because the town was founded on a certain industry, that is what needs to continue to be examined as the only option to bring in jobs," Rockefeller said.

Rockefeller said programs such as Discover the Real West Virginia are trying to help areas get away from that mentality by bringing foreign investors into the state. It gives policymakers an opportunity to bring in new clients and expand the economy.

"Toyota was one of the first companies we tried to bring in through the program, and it worked," Rockefeller said. "We tend to build around existing businesses rather than new business, so we need to find more companies to come into the state to expand the economy."

Diversification: Long-Term Effort

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., said through his press office that there are multiple underlying causes of poverty in West Virginia -- the state's geography, insufficient economic diversity, unhealthy lifestyles and lagging education rates.

"We have also witnessed a decrease in manufacturing jobs and the outsourcing of jobs for cheaper labor overseas, which has diluted the job opportunities for many West Virginians," Byrd's office said. "That is why I have been an outspoken critic of unfair trade practices."

Byrd said one of the major problems in the southern region of the state is the cyclical nature of the coal industry and the jobs associated with it. Byrd said mechanization has taken its toll. An economic downturn, such as the current one, drives down demand for coal, and workers are suffering because of it, he said.

"We have worked over the years to try and diversify the economy, but it is a long-term effort," Byrd said.

Byrd said the reality is that most of the land in the southern coalfields is owned by out-of-state holders and extractive industry companies, including coal, timber and natural gas corporations.

History has shown that once-booming coal communities had relatively large populations that found work in the mines, but a downturn in coal-related employment left a large labor force without work, leading to an exodus of families and a lack of opportunity for those who remained.

"I believe that historically many of these absentee owners have regarded economic development and diversification in the coalfields as an afterthought," Byrd said.

"I have worked hard over the years to support coal miners and the coal industry, but to also look beyond coal to create new opportunities in education, technology, national defense and tourism," he said.