Seems kinda obvious, on the face of it. There's the completely voluntary recession so the landlords could get a fat payout. The constant scuttling of environmental protections (mining, fishing, etc) for a quick buck and the brazen destruction they've done to the health system and government function.
We're rapidly decaying our quality of life, whereas they're less isolated, have economies of scale and natural resources to tap into (we do too, it's just in a nature reserve, etc)