>> Poverty seems to be the only positive correlation <<
Doubtful. Although I haven’t run the numbers, I’m willing to guarantee you’d get a very high R-square if you did a correlation between the STD rate and the percentage of population that’s of African, Hispanic and N. A. origin.
But then, you’d get the same kind of high correlation if you compared the ethnic percentages to things like income, education, out-of-wedlock births, drug and alcohol abuse, average lifespan, auto accidents, etc. They all come as parts of a package labeled “culture” — a collection of characteristics and behaviors that are very resistent to change.
I was referring to conclusions drawn by the author in this article-not actual causes. I agree with you.