"- none of U.S. cities rank in the top 100 most livable places (Mercer Cities Ranking)" This is rather false: http://www.citymayors.com/features/quality_survey

"- none of U.S. cities rank in the top 100 most livable places (Mercer Cities Ranking)" This is rather false: http://www.citymayors.com/features/quality_survey.html http://www.citymayors.com/features/quality_survey.html This calls into question the other assertions. What is your source? I actually agree that the U.S. has been pretty badly mismanaged lately, but despite this I've encountered many hardworking immigrants who manage to do well for themselves. I believe the main reason the poor continue to be poor is lack of drive and lower intelligence/education. Both of these derive mostly from environmental factors, especially family life, poor values, poor education and generally inhospitable surroundings. You would need to make some pretty radical changes to turn it around.