I don't know if "incompetent" (in terms of preparation) is the right word, as much as "market-driven". We're a largely capitalistic society here in America...where's the immediate financial incentive in heavily stockpiling & preparing ahead of time? Long-term, it makes sense financially, but our structure is low-earning workers & executive compensation packages with near-term quarterly results. Morally, it makes sense, but we operate off the almighty dollar (at least, most businesses work that way), not what the right thing to do is, unfortunately.
I've had the opportunity to do IT work for upwards of three dozen companies over the years. They are all vastly different in terms of their approach to IT: some spend no money & are constantly cutting themselves off from productivity gains. Most are reactive & buy what they need to get by, which is fine for now, but not for the future. A select few are proactive & stay ahead of the curve, and enjoy the benefits of being highly prepared.
Not many do that.
The ones who do are almost invariably more successful & less stressed-out than their competitors. Likewise, our country has the opportunity to recognize the sub-par workflow we're engaged in right now in response to the COVID-19 crisis & change our future approach (as we'll inevitably get more pandemics, wars, natural disasters, etc.). Will we? Based on history, no, lol. I wish we had a non-reactive foundational system in place, but we don't, and that's an awfully difficult thing to change culturally.