viewing the world differently when your material position changes
i struggled through most of my 20s, at the tail end found a way to monetize being fairly good at school and am now doing well financially, have a stable, well paid job + good long term prospects. It's completely changed how i view the world. Things that used to be so dire and upsetting (shitty health insurance policies, car repairs, landlords etc etc) are just annoying inconveniences. Not having material insecurity has greatly improved my mental health, which has allowed me to perform better, which in turn has made my position more secure.
90% of my colleagues have spent their entire life at this sort of comfortable, stable remove from the harshness of American life. I can't imagine how someone in that position would really care how most of the country has to live (paycheck to paycheck, one car accident away from financial devastation). It just sucks that this type of person, comfortable suburbanites, hold the balance of power in America