The bigger problem in the US is that dog owners are in general less educated about the relevant topics than in some other countries (like Germany). They will usually prefer to go to a breeder rather than adopt, and in terms of breeders they prefer cheap prices over other qualities of the breeder. I recently learned "Amish Puppy Mills" are a thing...
In Germany, people will usually go to a shelter first. But there are usually no dogs in a shelter suitable for the average dog owner (no extreme medical or behavioral problems, not too big, and "fighting" breeds can be a regulatory hassle). It's gotten so bad the shelters are screening applicants like job seekers. It's gotten so bad we import tens of thousands of "street dogs" from the mediterranean and Eastern Europe. Yes, also with plenty scammers. It got worse during the Covid years. And now all the "unsuitable" dogs get dumped in a shelter again.
"Adopt, don't shop" is very trendy in the US right now, and many shelters ran out of desirable dogs during COVID and had to ship dogs in from other states or even other countries. It seems very similar to what you describe in Germany, where desirable dogs get snapped up immediately and shelters end up being 90% pitbulls or pit mixes with behavioral issues.
.. by those "breed rescue" groups, which exist by fostering and adopting out shelter dogs which would get adopted anyway. They show up at the shelter first thing in the morning and take any of "their" breed.
I am a bit triggered by calling them a "amish" puppy mills. why not just call them puppy mills. of course they are run by amish, but they are also run by humans. So even if 90% of them are run by a amish, that does not mean that 90% of Amish people are running puppy mills. Does using ethnicity in this case adds to the definition?
Yes, it adds to the definition. The Amish seem to have particular incentives to breed dogs, as far as I understand it, breeding dogs is for them a profitable low tech business.
For other people it's much less commercially interesting, because you need the space, neighbors that don't complain, and some seclusion and privacy from animal welfare activists probably doesn't hurt either.
In Germany, people will usually go to a shelter first. But there are usually no dogs in a shelter suitable for the average dog owner (no extreme medical or behavioral problems, not too big, and "fighting" breeds can be a regulatory hassle). It's gotten so bad the shelters are screening applicants like job seekers. It's gotten so bad we import tens of thousands of "street dogs" from the mediterranean and Eastern Europe. Yes, also with plenty scammers. It got worse during the Covid years. And now all the "unsuitable" dogs get dumped in a shelter again.