THIS IS BULLSHIT:  Notice the way he has to go to Kentucky to find his story.  Kentucky votes mostly red, so the inference NYT readers will make is that this is something those terrible backwater, redneck hillbillies do.  Sorry, but no.  Kristof could have easily looked at a population in any major city to find the same problems.  Ahh, but urban leeches vote blue, so we don't want to blame them, right, Nick?  Better to showcase this problem with people your readers already hate.