to avoid the USA yet have it be a terrible place to avoid at all costs.

Enough morally bankrupt people enter office in key positions to let the Cartels in from Mexico. Sweeping gun laws are put in place in a hastily created excuse to start arresting people in a fruitless attempt to stop them. This leads to large portions of the American public to side with the Cartels who are more than happy to have more people who support them elected into office.

Poverty skyrockets. Money is quickly moved from the armed forces back into the work force to help small business thrive again. Too much is moved too quickly over a period of several years (because greedy people are greedy). Gas prices skyrocket as the country has to depend on it's own reserves after being forced to withdraw from other countries that now feel safe enough to refuse to sell to America. Food prices soon rise, making some people insanely wealthy.

A secret government back ganged (because as the CIA would say, "This has never failed us before.") is given the resources to fight the Cartels without much government oversight causing the creation of a shadow government in charge of re-taking control of America. After a few fuckups, civilian casualties, and no repercussions, they realize the people holding the leash have no bite, and choose to do whatever the hell they feel like. Now there's 3 different governments running the same country, all pretending to be the same government, all trying to destroy each other. A less dusty version of Afghanistan.

People occasionally go there to get rich, but like Hollywood, very few succeed. Most sane people choose to stay away.