"Dumb" is an insult to someone's intelligence, as if the problem is them. Ignorant is a bit closer.
But that's not actually my point to be honest, my point is that the problem is not the people who are getting screwed over. It's the people screwing them over.
Everyone being pushed down Maslow’s hierarchy of needs due to macroeconomic and political forces, generally. Possibly by a population wide event like a pandemic too, of course. And/or religious influence.
But that's not actually my point to be honest, my point is that the problem is not the people who are getting screwed over. It's the people screwing them over.