re: few corrections from an Oregonian....
Good discussion, thanks.
I would venture to suggest that the planetary analogy is perfect - the market that developed was based on available cheap trade routes by sea along the West coast and trans-Pacific in support of mining and infrastructure development of other new colonies or modernisation of nations.
In contrast, the trade with the east coast remained one-sided with people and finished goods coming out West and little going back except retirees with a pocket full of paper money.
Until/unless a space elevator gets built (the equivalent of the Transcontinental railroad), the same would be true of Mars vs the Moon vs Asteroids, IMHO.