The resulting map shows huge swaths of deeply disadvantaged locations across the nation’s 3,000 counties, places that are mostly located outside of the largest U.S. cities yet which share some traits: A history of resource extraction, unequal educational opportunities, a breakdown of social bonds, violence and local corruption.
Titles like this are why I don’t read mainstream outlets anymore.
Western states, aside from the literal west coast, do operate much like colonies.
Most of their initial economies were based around resource extraction, and that’s still mostly true today. The companies that own the mines and oil fields and such, aren’t headquartered anywhere near those states. Resources are extracted, and then shipped off elsewhere to be processed into something.