> You're spinning an enormous segment of the population as irrational actors, but they are not.
From their frame of reference, maybe. On the other hand, if the only industry supporting your town is a dying industry, then you have a couple of possibilities:
1. Move elsewhere that has economic prosperity.
2. Get another industry to move in that will help prop up the town's economy.
3. Repair the dying industry.
Option #3 is likely the hardest, and the most likely to fail, yet it seems to be the only option that people in Appalachia want to hear about.
From their frame of reference, maybe. On the other hand, if the only industry supporting your town is a dying industry, then you have a couple of possibilities:
1. Move elsewhere that has economic prosperity.
2. Get another industry to move in that will help prop up the town's economy.
3. Repair the dying industry.
Option #3 is likely the hardest, and the most likely to fail, yet it seems to be the only option that people in Appalachia want to hear about.