I am from the government I am here to help you....
No really. Over my many years I have assisted with disaster relief in more than one country including this one, fought forest fires and protected the nation and our national interests as deemed by whoever was president at the time.
When I focus on preparation it is mostly so that I can get beter at my job, and take care of my family just in case things really go South. For those of us who have been places where the government is no longer functioning you quickly note how very few services are available or how unreliable everything becomes.
So far as things getting worse rather than better, well I don't see it. On average we live longer, have a higher quality of life and work less than at any time previous in human history. It is quite telling that most of our health problems no longer center around malnutrition and diseases but around having too much (ie food and vice). When people have to drive somewhere to exercise and cut back on consumption just to stay healthy we are truly rich.
For this there has been a demand to sacrifice some freedoms, in most cases needlessly. If you are an independent minded person that does not suffer from a mindless need to consume and has different ideas about what quality of life means than this will rankle you. However it is hard to argue with how successful as a species we have become.