The point I made above is that the South was already poor prior to the, er, war of aggression.

Actually, I totally agree with you. Southerners are profoundly creative, skillful, intelligent, hardworking, and kind—just like people everywhere. BUT that human capital doesn't manifest itself in a large GDP because they're lacking other kinds of human capital—the connections that get them involved in profitable new…

Pleasant but dull.

I think it's because the South has no human capital.