US social and economic problems

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:42

The United States maintains a leading political position on the world stage and is the second largest economy after China. The average income of Americans is the highest in the world, but the life of the ordinary population is associated with a large number of difficulties. The country's economy is teetering on the brink of a total crisis, and the domestic political sphere is constantly shaken by serious scandals. The problems of US policy, when examined in detail, turn out to be completely insignificant in comparison with the difficulties faced by ordinary American citizens.

Social inequality

The United States completes the list of developed countries in the index of economic inequality. In 2015, for the first time in US history, the middle class was a minority, and the share of those who decided to start their own business is minimal. The 20 richest people in America own more than the 152 million poorest Americans. The average family has about $16,000 in debt, and 41% of the population cannot pay their medical bills.

Since the middle of the last century, the income of we althy families in America has grown by 90%, while the income of the poorest segments of the population - by only 10%. Only 25% of billionaires own $1 trillion in assets, which exceeds the total savings of more than half of Americans (56%). The proportion of citizens receiving food stamps has increased. For 15% of Americans in 2014, coupons became the main factor in surviving against the backdrop of total unemployment. Not a single person worked in 19% of families in 2015, although official figures indicate 5% unemployment.

State bureaucracy

The US social problem is bureaucracy. To get into some structures, people have to queue up for several months. You can register a business in 30 minutes, but then it will take a very long time to receive “references for references” and collect papers. The situation is the same with other documents - you can get paper without bribes, but you have to wait a very long time. A more or less tolerable situation has developed only with the issuance of a driver's license. Subject to preparation for the exam, you can get rights in 1-2 days.

Lack of social guarantees

A serious social problem in the United States is the lack of guarantees for citizens at the federal level. There are no single programs, but there are many large and small forms of targeted support across states and communities. These programs make it possible to partially compensate for the lack of material resources to meet the minimum needs of the family. The conditions for receiving social assistance are proven low income,the absence of a parent or unemployment.

Problems in education

The current education system in the United States is geared towards serving the consumer society. For many Americans, the only way to get a higher education is to participate in the loan program. Even universities that are not among the top 100 educational institutions in the country are very expensive, and education becomes an unbearable financial burden for young people.

Almost a third of students are ready to give up some of their internal organs in order to be able to pay off their debts for education. At the same time, the overall level of education remains very low. A survey conducted in 2015, for example, showed that the majority had not heard anything about the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Deteriorating he alth of citizens

He alth insurance is very expensive, and without a card, getting dental and general medical care is extremely difficult. Filling a single tooth, for example, costs from up to two hundred dollars, and more complex treatment can cost several thousand. This is a serious problem for the United States against the backdrop of a general deterioration in the he alth of the nation. Obesity and mental disorders are common.

Migration issue

The US development problem is migration. Against the backdrop of protests from ordinary citizens, the government is increasingly thinking about the need to introduce entry restrictions. Especially it concernsrefugees from the Middle East and Muslim countries. In contrast, there is an opinion that this is unacceptable for a free country, but throughout almost the entire history of the States, migrants have been repeatedly harassed.

Human rights violations

US economic problems appear to be minor compared to the massive oppression of the population. The country is constantly accused of totalitarianism in relation to geopolitical competitors, but in the United States itself, human rights violations are no less, if not more. After the events of September 11, 2001, ordinary Americans lost their basic freedoms, and the authorities began to interfere in the lives of citizens.

The problems of the country (the United States hides this information, therefore, the data of the Chinese report of 2014 are presented below) are striking: in 2013, 137 people were victims of mass executions, in the States there is a system of covert surveillance, which is a violation of international law, 80 thousand people are held in solitary confinement in long-term detention, the number of homeless people increased by 16% in 2012-2014, exploitation of minors in agriculture is common.

Judicial lawlessness

The United States is the country with the highest prison population. This US problem is about serious business. It is beneficial for the authorities to put people in jail for the slightest infractions, and if there is no good lawyer, then any American is actually at risk. It often turns out that people who have served twenty or thirty yearsturn out to be innocent. In addition, torture and prohibited interrogation methods are used in American prisons, and basic medical care is not provided. Compared to these facts, the environmental problems of the United States are utterly insignificant.

Police brutality

What issues in the US are constantly covered in the media? This is the behavior of American police officers who, for the sake of ensuring their own safety, are forced to go easy on people who have committed petty crimes. Minimal defiance can lead to an aggressive reaction, and a hint of weapon possession can lead to fire to kill. Tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, shotgun shells are used to suppress mass protests. The United States leads in the number of cases of brutality by law enforcement officials. American police officers shot almost a thousand people in 2017.

Racial conflicts

Racial conflict has always existed in the US - this problem is still common today. In words, absolute equality is declared, but in practice this is not observed, so the authorities are trying, if not to eliminate, then at least to disguise inequality. Human rights activists, for example, are demanding that race be removed from reports, because blacks and Hispanics appear in crime news.

Sometimes the desire for equality is expressed in the oppression of the white population. For example, in New York in 2014, an educational program for gifted children was closed, because it seemed to officials that it was not enoughpolitically correct that it was attended mainly by white children.

Crime and suicide

Problems of the US economy - suicide and crime against the backdrop of economic and social problems, respectively. Crime is mostly concentrated in the ghetto. In the southern states, the problem is the concentration of a large number of Hispanics, who are often in the country on illegal grounds. Many of them do not speak English. There are 33 thousand gangs in the country, which consist of almost 1.5 million people. It turns out that one bandit accounts for approximately 230 people. This is the case, according to official FBI figures.

Suicide is common in the military, and sodomy, sexual promiscuity and drunkenness are rampant in the military. 349 soldiers committed suicide in 2012. People are pushed to this step by stress and depressive moods, financial and legal problems. Almost every day, one of the American soldiers takes their own lives. At the same time, fewer soldiers died in punitive operations in Afghanistan in 2012 (about 300). For the sake of justice, it should be noted that there are suicides in the armies of other countries of the world, including the Russian one. But in the Russian Federation there are much fewer of them than in the States, and most suicides are committed by conscripts in disadvantaged units.

General anxiety of the nation

The US problem is a significant general anxiety of the population. Americans are actively buying up places in various bomb shelters and bunkers, which are designed to protect againstdestruction by economic, nuclear and biological weapons. Demand increased after the devastating tsunami in Japan and the war in Libya. It should be noted that most bunkers will not protect Americans from the conditions of modern warfare.

Many citizens own small arms, so people also fear social collapse, terrorist attacks and riots. Once again, the population began to actively buy weapons after a series of terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015.

US budget deficit

The problem with the economy is the budget deficit. By 2015, the country's public debt exceeded 18 trillion dollars, and the total exceeded 62 trillion dollars, that is, it amounted to 350% of the total GDP. At the moment, there are no funds to pay, so the threat of a fiscal cliff and a technical default constantly hangs over the States. The question, which concerns the timing of the collapse of the entire American economy, is very complicated.

Much depends on the subjective decisions of politicians. That is why many analysts have given wrong forecasts quite often in the past. The only thing that is clear is that it is necessary to radically change the policy in order to avoid collapse. A simplified account of the current situation can be found in the documentary I Owe USA.

Bankruptcy of territories

The problem across America is Detroit, but it's not the only case. The list of bankrupt cities is constantly growing. In California, for example, Mammoth Lakes, Stockton and San Bernadino have already declared themselves insolvent. On thethe edges balance San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach. In Rhode Island, Harrisburg is practically insolvent. Namely, around Detroit, the noise has risen for the reason that the situation there cannot be hidden. The city's economy was killed by racial conflict, corruption and economic depression.

Environmental Issues

Besides social, economic and political problems, there are many environmental problems. Among these, one can list the burning of energy sources, mining with harmful emissions into the atmosphere, pollution of water bodies and land, deforestation, and so on.