@ the forum ex-Menealus

Let's just see if we can have a decent, civilised thread of discussion on matters generally economic, not overburdened by theory and certainly not burdened by rudeness, profanity and conceit.
I'll just start it off with a generalised observation that often puzzles and worries me.
When I visit countries in Africa, India, Sth America and Asia, I obviously see poverty and disease and living conditions I am saddened by.
But almost always in these countries I always come away feeling hopeful in the people themselves. In the slums and ghettos, the people always seem to be relatively positive with life and helpful to their neighbours, in many cases, quite entrepreneurial and creative in their small businesses, which they have run for years. For sure corruption abounds, but people find a seemingly positive way to deal with it and even use it to their benefit.
On the other hand when I visit the good old USA and I see the deserted and destroyed inner city neighbourhoods in many major cities, all I see is despair and complete lack of hope. I see no ambition, I see no social responsibilty, I see no creative businesses ( except perhaps drug dealing).
I remember when I first visited San Francisco in the early 70's, how shocked I was to see bums lying in the streets at the terminus of the cable car route from the city to Fisherman's Wharf.
The last time I went back in the late 90, they will still there ( I personally refused to visit the US during the Bush Jr years). Maybe they're still there now. I don't know.
Does anybody else feel or experience the same general malaise when they visit the USA ?
Incidentally I was also recently in Spain ( drove from Bilbao to Valencia) and I was in Greece, and whilst there are obvious problems in both those countries, I didn't sense the desyroying depression and hopelessness I sense always in te US. All very strange to me.