I think the root cause for all of this is Group Cohesion vs Individuality. America and Americans are deeply optimized for the Individual, including giving them

I think the root cause for all of this is Group Cohesion vs Individuality. America and Americans are deeply optimized for the Individual, including giving them more flexibilities and freedoms, but also sparing them the burden of societal obligation.* I think this choice is why America is responsible for so much innovation and why it's a fantasy for immigrants to come and achieve their dreams. I would venture a guess that America is relatively the easiest place in the world to become a millionaire or a billionaire. However it's also why it's a dystopian hellscape if you ever slip and stumble off the path. It's also the easiest place in the developed world to become homeless, destitute, or die from a preventable disease. So what does it mean. Should this kind of society exist? Conservatives always optimize for people who opt into this by choice. Privileged entrepreneurs, working hard to make their mark, without the same obligations and burdens that exist in other flatter egalitarian societies. But most humans, even in America, don't choose their circumstances. They are born into them. Which means that for them, the American Dream is a delusion, a fantastical tease, as likely as winning the lottery. So I would venture that the American system is a net negative for their citizens, and for world humanity at large (not that other intervening super powers like China are any better). Student loan debt, lack of healthcare, private individuals actively working to undermine the government from effectively operating, government contractors using public funds to fuel their entrepreneurial growth, all of these are symptoms of a deeper societal sickness. But only 30% of the country (at best) wants to see it fixed. Another 30 thinks everything is just fine. The last third actually wants to make things even worse, and is inspired by either Atlas Shrugged or The Old Testament or The Handmaid's Tale. So what now? The cynic in me thinks that "the American dream" will become in the 21st century that "the British empire" became in the 20th. A historical relic of past relevance, while the country slowly decays. * Except when religious-based policies Trump everything else (E.g. "Personal freedom to live your life, unless you're gay."