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The sinking US economy is perhaps the most important issue in the presidential race.On this week's Inside USA, we travel to the city of Buffalo, New York to see how the city is weathering the economic storm.

From one perspective, Buffalo is the definition of a post-industrial wasteland.

The once great steel mills and grain elevators are now rotting hulks.

At the turn of the 19th century, Buffalo had more millionaires per capita than any other urban area. Today it is the second-poorest major city in the US.

Though the mayor of Buffalo says the city is actually in the midst of a boom: an exciting burst of re-development, his critics call that mere marketing, pointing to 20,000 vacant homes, and a working class that is working, but at wages so low that about 30 per cent are living in poverty.

However, the resilience and determination of people living there is something to behold - in a town that has been down for a very long time, the strength of resistance is undiminished.

This episode of Inside USA aired from Saturday, June 14, 2008.