Robert Mugabe forces his subsistence farmers to move to a new piece of land each year. As such, the farmer has no proprietary interest in improving the property to be more productive. The farmer knows any attempt to prosper via excellence will be confiscated.
I reference the state of farmers in Zimbabwe as a model for what is happening in America. In America, we build new technologies from the ground up. When they become mature, we hand them to 3rd world countries and throw those who did the innovation on the streets. We've done it to steel, manufacturing and IT. Why should Americans feel any motivation to continue to innovate and create new industries when the historical record shows they will be dispossessed of their success as soon as possible?