Wyoming Diversion

Last month, I was in Southern Wyoming for a couple of days. Besides the usual Wyoming oddities like a grocery store with dozens of mounted heads, skins, and entire preserved wildlife corpses, I was struck by the general state of decay in the small towns. There is evidence that there was once prosperity, and I imagined that some of these places were once inviting and pleasant for the residents and those passing through. Now it is just depressing, and there is an air desperation, or perhaps resignation about the towns. Is this going on across the entire country? It looks like third world status is upon us...