The real problem with America is that the baby boomers are running it now.
The boomers, the "me" generation, now in their 60's, are now the people in charge. They are the CEOs, the senior partners, the elected officials. And it shows.
It shows in business. The motto "the buck stops here" has been replaced with "whoever dies with the most toys, wins." Environment, bah. Quality, bah. Businesses exist to extract money from others, and responsibility is for underlings.
It shows in show business. The boomers want all their old TV shows back, and to hell with new ideas. The only next generation they're interested in is Star Trek, and the only improvements they're interested in is to change all those crewwomen's uniforms from mini-skirts to catsuits.
Why plan for the future? The Me generation isn't interested - this is the generation that didn't have kids because kids would have cut into their disposable income. The world only has to last one week after their death - just long enough for the lavish funeral and the magazine spread.
I won't live to see it, but I have great hopes for the future - if only because the boomers will not be running it any more.