Wendover Productions | Why West Virginia is so Poor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44l6f7iXGAk
the place sounds almost like Norway. most of it is mountains and isn't good for farms and factories.
what saves Norway is the vast coastline.
before Norway had roads and before it struck oil in the 70s, the sea was the main way of moving people and goods around the country. seafood was also the main source of protein for many. fur farming was really big at one point. just like in West Virginia, we lack farmland, so it's much easier to farm animals such as mink or pig.
here's Norway's trade balance. the exports are crude oil, natural gas, ships and oil platforms, and the final item is seafood.
"fastland" is mainland - stuff that isn't offshore. our trade balance is negative if you get rid of the oil and gas. we're importing for 22 million NOK more than we could afford without the offshore industry.
that's why it's so unpopular to talk about decarbonisation here. nobody wants a thinner wallet.
We have farms, but not as many of the big industrial scale farms. To me that's a good thing. If you drive out about 3 hours from here the mountain farms look really cool. I've seen cattle on some pretty steep hills.
Where I live we had a factory in town growing up, but they left. Now there is a new factory being built or has been built but further out of the way.
nostr:npub17xgfxzgvretlzvhgl6rc65xtx6xcapy4gzyaaq5jl8z50a5y8tjs9dd2gj it's difficult to create a trade surplus under such conditions
True although honestly I think maybe too much focus on trade and not enough on local sustainability is not the best way to run an economy. I think for example it would be Mich smarter and cost effective to use the coal that's here instead of destroying farm land to make solar farms. The cost of building these farms is enormous, and while I think it's privately owned the state gives businesses tax breaks to setup shop. It wouldn't make economic sense to do this otherwise.
Much of the economy is fake. It's cheaper to buy produce grown in Mexico than a local producer because of subsidies which disincentivizes production. Then everyone scratches their heads on why the locals are poor.
