I find this article contradictory. The first sentence: Parts of the country that depend on the safety-net programs supported by Democrats are increasingly voti

I find this article contradictory. The first sentence: Parts of the country that depend on the safety-net programs supported by Democrats are increasingly voting for Republicans who favor shredding that net. Later: In eastern Kentucky and other former Democratic bastions that have swung Republican in the past several decades, the people who most rely on the safety-net programs secured by Democrats are, by and large, not voting against their own interests by electing Republicans. Rather, they are not voting, period. So why start the article saying they vote against, to later say they don't vote? Clickbait maybe? Anyway what I take away from the article is something I have observed for all my years - Pain (economic or other) is a motivator. If you are struggling, you are much more likely to do something about it. When a person is handed something for free or little effort, they become apathetic towards that thing. I am not saying that this is a rule - it is a generality. A lot of how people behave in that situation depends on a great deal of outside factors. Maturity, life experience, intelligence can all have an affect When I was young, a friend of mine had his 4 year old car totalled. It was hit on the side, so the damage was limited to the body of the car. He sold it to me for $100 because that's what the junkyard offered him. It drove great, no alignment problems or any problems at all except it looked bad. Within 3 weeks I had pushed the engine way past redline (it was a manual) in a short race, and the engine began to fail. I kept that lesson with me - if I had not done that, I could have driven that car for years to come, saving me money on insurance, gas, etc. Lack of maturity was my biggest problem. People vote to give themselves something when they are struggling, but after that motivation is removed they will mostly fall back to old habits. Struggle is a critical part of the human condition. Take that away and you take away a big part of us.