That's what it usually takes. To be a superpower, the government has to extract a lot from the citizens. Russia is an even more extreme case.

> It’s fascinating that America can be the world’s superpower(?) and yet huge swathes of society still live in unstable conditions like this.

Because huge swathes of society choose to live in these unstable conditions.

They could move to Detroit or even Salt Lake City, but they prefer the lifestyle of New York City.