There has been an intentional assault on the American people for the past 100 years to weaken them. The US is the last principled nation. At its core, it is anti-elite. Since the Wilson administration, the bureaucratic state has been at war against the Constitution and the people who stand by it. Poverty has been an intended outcome to ensure the people never have the ability to revolt against the national govt again. 

At least half of the country is in this state, and the other half is in debt slavery. Both have been effective tools to subdue the population.