Do you want to see the wealthiest state in the entire nation? All many of us have to do is to look out our front doors across the Potomac River. Yup, it's Maryland. Looking for the second poorest state will not be too hard. Just look at the ground under your feet.
Now these statistics are skewed somewhat. The $35,000 median income of West Virginia in most counties has drastically more purchasing power than in many parts of Maryland. Their median income of around $66,000 does not look nearly as good in areas where the cost of real estate is frighteningly high.
All that admitted, West Virginia should perform much better. Sure we can pat ourselves on the back for being better off than Arkansas. We can also remember when times were much worse. However these new income numbers reflect what three fourths of a century of Democratic Party leadership has done for our state. Certainly some individuals such as Senator Robert C. Byrd have worked hard and gotten some federal money sent our way. However sound conditions for economic growth would have rendered federal investment less necessary. It also would have meant West Virginia would have capitalized more on the ripple effects from the influx of public money.
The time is 2008. Vote Republican. 76 years of Democratic dominance have made 50th in too many catagories. It's time to end the slide. We would have fired a football coach for putting us consistently in last place for only a couple of years. Yet we put up with the same Ruling Party decade after decade.
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