Perhaps a more fair rewrite to the question at left would be: “Why do the most powerful people in the United States strip resources from the most downtrodden?”

Of course, extreme greed and cruelty isn’t limited to the U.S., though we have most certainly taken it out of the hands of the amateurs.

But why?  How?  It’s an interesting question. Partial answers include our:

Involvement with slavery that persisted well past the point that the rest of the developed world had abolished it.

Vitriolic reaction to immigrants through the last 150 years., e.g., Asians, Irish, and Italians.

Ongoing white nationalism that has only skyrocketed since recent dawn of Trumpism.

Present-day decline in educational standards, such that now, only a slim minority of Americans are capable of thinking for themselves.