Yep, it reminds me of Dutch Disease [1] in economics where countries that happen upon an enormously profitable natural resource see a decline or an inability to compete internationally in other sectors of their economy.

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_disease

Lucking across a local maximum seems to warp peoples' perspective on what to do next.

Of course little else is going to look like a better idea! Every direction is downhill!

But every other local maximum can only be reached by first crossing a valley.