As the locals joke sardonically, West Virginia is one of the few places in the US that has barely felt the effects of the current recession. It got there a long time ago. “I think the loss of population is the biggest problem … we had at one time 13 car dealerships; now we have none,” says a state senator. The result? Poverty, drugs, sickness…

Michael Cook

Michael Cook is the editor of MercatorNet. He lives in Sydney, Australia.