Joe,
The photo that you linked to really paints a strong picture of the economic problems in West Virginia. It reminds me of so many different areas in my home state, except for Morgantown, which is one of the few areas that is growing economically, primarily because of growth at West Virginia University in forensic sciences. West Virginia is the product of decades upon decades of poor economic growth policies that gave in to the needs and wants of special interests and unions (miners, teachers, etc.) while punishing residents and business with oppressive taxes and poor services.
What is difficult to comprehend is that the people realize there is an economic problem, but instead of insisting change, they continue to elect the same leadership that has led to the current problem in the state. It will take years to fix the economic problems in the state, if not decades.
