A big reason why YC is cloned is to create an ecosystem in a different city. (ie, the YC for Kentucky, the YC for Seattle, etc.) They have tended to want to be the YC for that particular city/region.
They then tend to compare themselves to other local startup options (which are probably pretty bad) and not to the full spectrum of startup options, which is the only way they can get the best startups world-wide.
They then tend to compare themselves to other local startup options (which are probably pretty bad) and not to the full spectrum of startup options, which is the only way they can get the best startups world-wide.