Opinion of West Virginia

[DINGO Joe]

The state's death rate is literally 14% higher than the next nearest state (Alabama).  They've lapped the field by being old, highest death by accident rate, highest death by drug overdose rate, top two in smoking and diabetes.  Despite having a lower than avg birth rate they are sixth in teen births.  A quarter of mothers smoke while in pregnancy (3X the national avg) and of course they lead the nation in drug babies.  Lowest rate of adults with a college degree.  Only state with fewer people than 1950 (Eastern panhandle has gained 100,000 the rest of the state has lost 250,000).

Has a tax system heavily reliant on severance taxes and extraction industries so not so surprisingly it has a massive unresolved budget deficit.  State Republicans refused to raise the cigarette tax (currently .30 per pack--bottom 5) and instead want to massively increase what teachers and govt workers pay for health care. 

The PSC has allowed the utilities and big coal to structure rates so that if the coal plants can't sell excess generation to out of state customers (due to out of state customers buying cheaper natural gas generation) then in-state ratepayers see a big increase in the rates they pay (basically absorbing fixed costs). 

Their governor's race will be between a coal baron and a guy named Bill Cole. 

It is  pretty state to drive through and Wheeling is interesting.  People seem nice enough, but there is no way around the fact that it's a horrible, horrible, dysfunctional state (sans Eastern Panhandle) only mitigated by the fact that it has a small and declining population.

[DINGO Joe]

Forgot this:



Top state in people collecting disability, probably some fraud, but mostly valid.  That's just hard to convince employers to move into the state with a workforce like this.

[DINGO Joe]

Massive Freedom State.

Except the roads. They've managed to make the trip down I-64 through Charleston and the mountains worse than the trip down I-94 through the entire Chicago metro area.

Poor state plus impossible terrain equals horrible roads.  Goes for things like water and broadband access too.