I never said they "don't matter", just that they shouldn't be bailed out for their dumb choices. They do not believe that there's any global climate change. They think it's a hoax. They vote for leaders (for the rest of us) who push these anti-scientific views. Then they insist on building expensive houses right on the water.

Tell me why I should have any sympathy for them, or why I should help them when their expensive homes get flooded.

People who live in risky areas must continue to fool themselves to avoid a painful reailty. For example people who live very close to a risky dam for example feel safer about it than other people who live further away. This is both due to survivor bias (folks who faced the truth picked different place to live) and cognitive bias called cognitive dissonance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

Yep.

See this:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article1357669...

Not sure how you get from what he said to people not mattering.