[RobbyS]

It has been true of Appalachia since the 1920s. The cause is the same, a culture
that suppresses aspirations for self-improvement. Friends of ours taught advanced math and science classes at Spencer, WV, and were dismayed to see their best students decline to go to college, or even make the effort. The cultural inertia is tremendous. As on the Indian reservations, the parents are content to see their children continue the listless lives of the local community. They don’t want to “lose” their children to modernity. The same attitudes, I submit. prevail in the urban ghettoes.

[allmost]

It does seem to be endemic in certain sociological circles. This article does not state that there are more poor whites than any other race in this country. There are more caucasian ,numerical, examples of every income bracket. Appalachia has, like you've stated been an extreme example of the lesser end income-wise. It generally boils down to mindset, regardless of race or creed.

[Eaker]

Friends of ours taught advanced math and science classes at Spencer, WV, and were dismayed to see their best students decline to go to college

I know a high school physics teacher in Charleston, WV who actually thought one could "catch gay" from casual contact with a homosexual. Maybe this sort of thing is part of the problem too.

[RockinRight]

As far as Appalachia, part of the problem is that even if they do get an education, there’s nowhere to USE that education unless they move far from home. Kind of a vicious circle.