The west has always played second fiddle with respect to everyday life in America. New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Philadelphia garner most of the press when a big city is thought of, leaving Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco as redheaded step children. Wall Street is considered the financial hub of the U.S. even when the San Joaquin Valley in California feeds the entire world. Detroit and other big industrial cities have always been looked at as the economic engine of the country when, until recently, California’s economy used to be the tenth largest in the world.
