I think the root cause is that society no longer needs "beta" males. Or rather, men in the middle of the distribution. This here is a symptom of that broad effect in society. Technical leverage, automation, premium on intelligence in the workplace, and technology more broadly are pushing out average men.
Hyper-concentration of wealth means no upward mobility so it's no surprise America is having this crisis. Turns out in capitalism if the goal is to hoard the most resources, once you're winning the game it's no longer profitable to educate the masses, better off to leave them poor and dying in wars that make even more money. Can you imagine a library or a modern public computer lab being built in cities? We make kids go into debt for food at school.
