Why More Americans Are Being Pushed Into Poverty | CNBC Marathon

There is a glaring contradiction in American society: the widespread belief in American exceptionalism despite clear evidence of decline. This cognitive dissonance is driven by several historical, cultural, and political factors:

1. American Exceptionalism & National Mythology
• The U.S. was founded on the idea that it is unique, a beacon of freedom and democracy.
• Cold War propaganda reinforced the belief that America was the “leader of the free world” in contrast to communism.
• Many Americans still cling to this self-image, even as evidence contradicts it.

2. Political & Media Indoctrination
• Right-wing media (Fox News, talk radio) and corporate elites push the idea that social welfare = socialism = communism.
• Any attempt to suggest Nordic-style policies is met with accusations of “radical left” extremism.
• The two-party system ensures no real systemic change, as both sides serve corporate interests.

3. Hyper-Capitalism & the Destruction of the Middle Class
• Neoliberalism (since the 1980s) prioritized corporate profits over citizens’ well-being.
• Jobs were offshored, unions were crushed, and wages stagnated while the rich got richer.
• The healthcare system is a for-profit disaster, leaving millions in medical debt.

4. Social Fragmentation & Cultural Decay
• Rising crime, addiction, homelessness, and obesity are symptoms of a broken system with no safety nets.
• Cities and infrastructure are crumbling, yet the government prioritizes wars and corporate welfare over fixing domestic problems.
• Gun violence, mass shootings, and drug crises are normalized, but no serious reforms happen.

5. Fear of Change & Anti-European Mentality
• Many Americans have been conditioned to fear socialism (even though European-style social democracy isn’t socialism).
• Politicians and corporations demonize European models because they would threaten the profits of healthcare, pharma, and financial elites.
• Civic ignorance prevents many from understanding how other countries function better.

Conclusion: Can America Reverse Its Decline?
• The U.S. is experiencing late-stage imperial decay, much like Rome before its fall.
• Without massive systemic reforms, inequality, crime, and infrastructure collapse will worsen.
• Yet, most Americans are trapped in propaganda, believing they live in the greatest country in the world—while standing in its ruins.

Yeah, American have the most millionaires, but their government is not the richest.
Us is in debt to China by billions.

Dont worry Trump will save you.

GDP is an imperfect indicator of the prosperity of a nation. For example, India has the fifth highest GDP in the world but most of that wealth is controlled by a very few number of people there, the per capita income of the average Indian is very low. As a result the quality of life for an average Indian is quite low which isn't necessarily reflected in it's GDP.

We don't want those programs. Providing these programs would increase taxes to a ridiculous amount. I worked to where I am and want the government out of my life. Stop trying to punish people who worked for their resources because some people don't put the work in. Life is competitive. Learn to compete.

Because your globalism doesnt keep wealth in the country it allowes wealth to leave the country leaving nothing for americas to profit off of

Wait till Trump tarrifs kick in and other nations retaliate with their own tarrifs on American products, the cost of living in America will spiral out of contoll. Other nations will just continue freely trading with each other without America, while Americans try to keep their head above water while drowning in their over printed dollar. The dollar is dead, move over for the BRICS currency. We need a global currency that isnt controlled by any one nation.

14:24 This is not the problem, that there are not enough chairs. The problem is that previously you had "Rockefeller" and "Ford". "Rockefeller" wanted 3 chairs (to sit on three chairs alone), and "Ford" wanted two chairs (one for him, one for his son), and they left the other three chairs to all their workers-players, to sit there in a queue, one after the other. They also organized the way the queueing line (salaries) worked.

Now you have Bezos and Musk. Bezos says: I need four chairs, and I am going to give one of them to my wife, in a divorce settlement. Musk took the other four chairs, says: "I am going to tie them to a rocket, and blow up to Mars, that's my vision". They say to all others: you can come and work in my company, and WATCH THE FOUR CHAIRS I HAVE, but you cannot sit on them. But if you work hard for forty years, and if you are very diligent and dutiful, I might at one point give you some time to sit on one of the chairs, some day (the equivalent of a bonus, payed to a retiring worker). But mostly rely on unemployment benefits (rugs, provided by the government, on which to squat – not chairs).

In short: greed became unbearable, this is your problem. You will never have enough chairs, with limitlessly greedy egotistical ill capitalist entrepreneurs. The math does not work. They need AN INFINITE NUMBER OF CHAIRS, to satisfy their little tiny immature sociopathic ego.

Marisa Flores would have been better choice for me than my wife, we could have been making lots of money together. My wife asks me why you are saving money? are you going to give it to your mother? of course I dont blame her, I meet her when she lost her job and struggle to pay rent, eat my food and me having my visa expired and having 5K saved she was surprised how come, we ended up getting married and 2 years latter we bought a home, now we pay 1K in mortgage we have cars cash. When I meet her she only had a bike and loved those bikes. But we were happy when we had nothing, I dont know why is that, I guess our ancestors had to always fight to get food so they never had enough and having their DNA we should probably always be poor.

And this will never change . Uneducated worker bees was the plan all along .

LOL imagine that! Poverty leading to stress outcomes! So it's not really "mental illness" leads to poverty! What a concept. Somebody please phone Abraham Hicks and Joe Dispenza. We have re-education work to do out here before this expands any farther. Yeah I'm actually being serious. Spiritual pimps out here in alignment with oligarchy, amplifying the shitshow that we need to have shut down.

DISRUPTIONS CAUSES STRUGGLES!

It’s proly the skewed foreign policy prioritizing continuous war for some eighty (80) years, benefitting the military industrial complex and the elite bankers & politicians while ignoring the welfare of the people. For instance it’s seen in how America’s past & present Presidents and officials , had looked away instead of confronting Beijing’s global drug war , the smuggling of Fentanyl & illegal guns & parts . resulting to increasing American deaths on a daily basis. Self interest trumps National Security.

Pls read Blood Money by Peter Schweizer.

High taxes and inflation

The elderly vote.

lol, income and equity…. The real reason is people don’t save, they just spend, and are deep in debt.

Thanks for Biden! Russia live better!

Trump and everyone who voted for this criminal will gut all of these social government programs

That's the way it has been going on for a long time ,the Ideology of the country from India and some middle Eastern countries have infiltrated our country 🇺🇲 they believe in no middle class just Super rich and super phoor and here is the 🇺🇲 working people working just to be phoor .

Come back and visit us in 2028 because we are screwed screwed screwed at the moment. Nobody's going to do anything about this.I'm 62 years old and I see the way it is devolved and devolved. There is literally nowhere to live that isn't really expensive unless you want to live in a terrible neighborhood. Sorry folks.