As a conceptual body it has the authority. The meat bags currently running the show have no motivation. Of course they too are Americans and would deflate their value by changing the rules, which is the problem with thought ending populist chants and mantras like “no new taxes!”
The public is “data structure” illiterate. They’re educated with spoken traditions coupled to vague imagery of hierarchical power structures of history and the work place. I am not sure it’s intentional, more of a Duning-Kruger thing.
As usual any sustained shift in the appropriation of agency is up to the public. Science shows us how to build things, but no theory states “we must build rockets to nowhere.” But “keep your hands off muh capitalism click clack” gets in the way of sincere discussion of fully automated logistics.
Protectionism of spoken tradition in human memory is not going away anytime soon. It’s innate to our biology.