Everything can work as social mobility tool if govt decides it to be. They can make a plan to boost any other sector of the economy and create a lot of super high-pay jobs which would achieve just the same while being actually productive for society, i.e. returning something tangible on taxpayer’s dollars.
And yes, the world should know US shouldn’t be a world cop. Neither should China or Russia for that matter. The world cop should be the UN, the Security Council, and the UN Peacekeeper force.
No single country is a good fit for the role, and all would severely abuse their power, leading to a ton of suffering.