Mysteries in the muck of politics and economics are not so terribly difficult really:
We are too generous and forgiving of the predations of the ruling classes. Too many scholars and pundits fail to be useful to society since they collude with the ruling classes to conceal the true costs of the ham handed incompetence of bureaucrats sharply focused on their essentially trivial concerns.
Oddly overlooked, government by the people for the people also means creating government, not merely choosing players, not merely bellyaching, but building institution and agency as you like it. There’s the failing of trivial consumers and there’s the rub of citizenship.
Americans should be ashamed of local insolvency and vulnerable sovereignty. Exercised governing is a Capitol Hill on every hill. There’s little preventing all the power they’ll require.