There's a strong mentality of "anything good for GDP is good for the country" in the U.S. The constant stream of economic reports in the news (from "markets rallied today, with the S&P..." to the latest jobs report to what the Fed is doing this year); reporting other news in terms of how it affects the economy, etc.

When a single number becomes the single most important number the country measures, everything else takes a back seat. And that doesn't mean other things don't get any attention... it's just that spending time and money on things that don't have a direct (perceived) effect on GDP doesn't much happen.