Quoting from the article: "Communities considered distressed in the study had high numbers of residents without high school diplomas, . . . ."

Whose fault is it, that these unemployed did not bother to get a high school diploma or get a GED?  Isn't a high school education offered to everyone free of charge courtesy of the taxpayers?  Isn't bilingual education offered to all students for whom English is not their first language?  Take some personal responsibility, students and parents.