The view expressed in the article is not surprising when reading two other articles (see below) that appeared not long ago here in HN, one of which was flagged (I tend to suspect that these theses hit a little too close to home for some and hence the immediate dismissal).
[1] America is Regressing into a Developing Nation for Most People https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/america-is-r... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14158310
[2] Why Poverty Is Like a Disease http://nautil.us/issue/47/consciousness/why-poverty-is-like-... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14201822