The United States is ruled by greed and corruption.
According to "experts", the US ranked #27 (out of 180) as the least corrupt country in the world. You and I know better. Greed is ENCOURAGED AND REWARDED by our economic system. Corruption isn't actually a crime because IT'S BEEN LEGALIZED. Banks and large corporations (and the oligarchs that own them) pay most of our elected officials and judges through campaign contributions to pass laws to eliminate regulations and oversight. THEY DICTATE EVERY FACET OF OUR LIVES:
Healthcare - when compared with other developed countries we pay FAR more per capita yet rank last in quality of care and life expectancy. We spend twice as much for prescription drugs. At least a quarter of bankruptcies are due to high deductibles, rising premiums, outrageous hospital costs, and denied claims. In other words, our healthcare system puts PROFITS ahead of PEOPLE
Education - Corporate America requires a college degree for an entry-level job. Yet we have the second most expensive education system in the world and the average debt at graduation is $16,300 which takes (on average) 21 years to pay off. Billionaires are working to DEFUND public education and funnel your tax dollars to charter schools. Our education system is just another profit opportunity.
Housing - the average sales price for a house: $513000, about 23% higher than 5 years ago. A 30 year fixed rate loan will have an interest rate of 8%; an average loan of $450,000 will mean a payment of $3300 which represents HALF the gross income of a couple each making the median US income. And the odds are that some mammoth corporation will buy the house you want anyway and offer to rent it back to you.
Food - Our grocery bill gets higher every week (18-30% more than just a year ago). Due to little "competition", corporations can pass their cost increases directly to the consumer. 2021 was the most profitable year for big corporations since 1950, with pre-tax profits rising to $2.5 trillion and after-tax profits surging 35%. In the meantime, nearly 39.5 million people — 12.8% of the U.S. population — are living in "food deserts" without ready access to healthy food options. Turns out there's little profit to be made by opening grocery stores in these areas.
The Environment - Air, water, and soil pollution is not near the top of public or corporate policy. The top polluting industries are energy (about 30% of greenhouse gasses), transportation (20%), agriculture (13-18%), the fashion industry (10% and rising), and retail food industry (much of it due to plastic packaging). These industries spend money (successfully) lobbying Congress rather than coming up with solutions. There's still plenty of profit to be made by staying with old technologies.
Retirement - Social Security is expected to be insolvent by 2035. Corporate pensions are a thing of the past and public pensions will be devastated by risky investments. And beware of retirement accounts such as 401k's and IRA's: Wall Street is a casino where the house (investment banks, brokers, and market makers) always win and you always lose. And they bet with your money!