@MnemosyneSinger I'm originally from Los Angeles. Living now for many years in West Virginia has been an education. A lot of poor people here. Most of them believe that poverty results from stupidity. They believe that rich people are, by definition, good people, hard working, honest, and blessed by God. If you drive up in a nice car wearing a suit, they'll believe anything to tell them.
I'm sure this is the same in Kentucky, Tennessee, etc.
This is a huge problem that has to be fixed, but I have no idea how. I frequently disabuse people of these utterly wrong beliefs, but I'm just one person and there are millions of them.