re: #120 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

For that matter, most of the “Western” states are mostly empty space. The big population centers are big, true… but there is a LOT of open land west of the Mississippi.

They’re empty space, but they’re also already nearly at carrying capacity. Simply put, that’s because the West is where the ground is, but it’s very much NOT where the water is. Denver could probably not support the population of Greater New York or Greater LA. For that matter, there’s a very strong argument to be made that Greater LA can’t support the population of Greater LA. That argument is, in part, called Owens Lake.