The United States is home to over 329 million people. This country has many social problems. American culture and politics are highly influential globally, so what happens there has an impact on people all over the globe. What are the most important issues to be aware of? Here are ten examples:
Student debt
Forbes presents 2022 statistics on student loan debt in the United States. The student debt total is $1.75 trillion, including federal and private loans. Borrowers owe an average of $29,000 each. Federal student loans make up 92%. This is significant because student loan growth rates are outpacing tuition increases by 353.8%. Federal relief is not sufficient. Collective student debt increased by more than 8% in 2020. Many are unable to repay their loans. Borrowers who fall behind on their loans can cause damage to their credit score, which makes it difficult to find other debt relief options. People continue to fall into debt without additional credit lines. This is why? Rising tuition costs is a direct cause. However cuts to state funding for higher education as well as stagnant wages are also contributing factors. It would be possible to cancel debt, but it is also important to address tuition costs and wage cuts.
Inequality in wage
Economic Policy Institute’s analysis found that the wages of the top 1.0% have risen by 179.3% in the span 1979 to 2020. The top 0.1% experienced even greater growth, at 389.1%. The bottom 90% saw wages rise by only 28.2%. Inequality has been getting worse. The lowest 10% received 60.2% in all wages in 2020. This was the lowest amount since data collection began in 1937. In 2021, 70% of U.S. wealth was owned by the top 10%. It is clear that there is a wide gap between the salaries of CEOs and typical workers. In 1978-2018, CEO salaries increased by more 900%, while average workers saw a decrease of 11.9%. The American saying “The rich keep on getting richer” is true.
Healthcare
America still lacks a functioning and affordable health care system. KFF has found that approximately 1 in 10 Americans are in debt due to medical reasons. 3 million Americans owe more that $10,000. The highest likelihood of significant medical debt are those who are black, disabled, or in poorer health. Americans owe hundreds, if not billions of dollar. COVID-19 also highlighted many problems in the health care system. The 2021 article outlined the most serious systemic issues that the pandemic has made worse, including price and cost barriers, inequity, marginalization of public healthcare, quality issues, and inequity. The United States healthcare system was simply insufficient to cope with the pandemic. The United States healthcare needs to be completely redesigned in order to handle future pandemics.
What is the current state of housing?
Affordable housing can be difficult to find in most areas of the United States. Pew Research revealed that 49% Americans believed finding affordable housing within their community would be a “major issue” by 2021. This is a 10 percent increase over early 2019, Housing concerns are closely linked to stagnant wages. A report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition in 2021 states that no worker could afford a two-bedroom rental house with wages of 40 hours a week. New Yorkers must work 94-hours per week to be able to rent a 1-bedroom home. California has a minimum $14.00/hour wage. This will allow you to rent a 1-bedroom unit with 89 work hours per week. Texas’ $7.25/hour minimum wage means that a 1-bedroom rental requires 100 hours of work per week to rent. Soaring prices, stagnant wages and debt are making home ownership impossible for many, particularly Millenials. Apartment List found that 18% renters in the millennial generation plan to live with their landlords for as long as they can afford to own a home.
Voting rights
The United States’ most pressing problem is the attack on voting rights. It has the potential to affect every other issue. According to the Brennan Center For Justice, restrictions are tracked by 19 states. These laws were passed between January 1st 2021 and December 7th 2021. Republicans have always wished for stricter voter laws. However, in the wake Joe Biden’s Big Lie, they’ve increased their attacks. The Center tracked laws and found that at most 34 bills with restrictive provisions had passed 11 state legislatures by May 4, 2022. 39 states will consider nearly 400 restrictive voting laws during the entire session of 2022. These restrictions can be used to limit mail-in vote, restrict Sunday voting, or establish new or more stringent voter ID laws.
These laws restrict voter access, prop up election fraud and weaken voter confidence in the results.
Reproductive rights
Amid decades of activism and political work, the Supreme Court is ready to reverse Roe.V. Wade. This case has established abortion as Constitutional right. Politico reported the story when they received a draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion. The authenticity of the report quickly became apparent, sparking outrage and protests. The official ruling will immediately weaken reproductive rights in the US. 13 states have already passed “trigger” laws. That means that abortion will soon be illegal in states with few exceptions. States have already tightened abortion rights in complicated ways. Oklahoma recently adopted the strictest abortion ban in the country. The bill made performing an abortion a felony, which can lead to up to 10 years imprisonment. The reversal Roe would make it easier to attack contraception. The Guardian quoted the Northeastern University faculty director for the Center for Health Policy Law, saying that “Once you make the most well-known decision in that case category, every other case can be yours.”
Book banning in schools
Book bans have been increasing across the country in recent months to the horror of educators, librarians, teachers, as well as librarians. PEN America gathered over 1,500 cases of banned books over nine months to make its first official count. In 26 states, there have been bans in 86 school district. This amounts to almost 3,000 schools, which serves more than 2,000,000 students. While books are not uncommon in schools libraries, 41% found ties with elected officials in PEN’s Index. This is an “unprecedented change,” according to PEN. Most of the books being challenged concern sexual education, LGBTQ+ identities, as well as teaching racism and race. Moms for Liberty and other conservative groups often invoke “parental rights”, to justify banning books. Can bans be extended to school libraries as well? Barnes & Noble was sued for selling two books he claimed were obscene to minors in Virginia. Although this is not a new trend in book bans, it is one of the most important social issues in America.
LGBTQ+ Rights
The rhetoric directed at the LGBTQ+ community has increased in 2022. Conservative media pundits as well as politicians have begun to use the term “groomer” in a throwback attack, accusing trans and gay people of “recruiting” children and preying on them. NPR names Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist, as one the principal promoters and earliest adopters of this tactic. Tucker Carlson, host of the nation’s leading news cable channel, has accused teachers of “grooming”, when they discuss gender or sexual identities. The law has been impacted by these attacks beyond the rhetoric. The most well-known bill in Florida is “Don’t Say Gay”, but 238 anti LGBTQ+ bills were filed across the country within the first three months of 2022. Anti-gay groups also have millions of dollars to support antiLGBTQ+ legislation. This level of hostility towards LGBTQ+ rights is very alarming.
Climate justice is a concept that emphasizes the importance of holding all nations accountable for their contributions to climate change and providing resources for those most affected by its consequences.
For decades, scientists and activists warned of the dangers of climate change. However, little has been done. The United States is now experiencing more severe effects from climate change. Three severe winter storms swept across the United States in 2021, causing the worst energy infrastructure collapse in Texas’ history. There was a shortage of food, water, energy and water. According to the Department of State Health Services, there were 246 deaths. But, the death rate could have been much higher. One study indicated that Arctic warming caused by climate change could have led to the increase in polar vortex-related storms. Warmer air causes polar vortexes to weaken and they move south, leading to the storms that were seen in Texas. Climate change also prolongs wildfire season and makes heat waves more severe, such as the one that occurred in June 2021 in Texas, which left hundreds dead. These “unusual” events will become more common, so it is important to take action.
Prejudice and discrimination based on one’s race.
Over the past hundreds of year, racism has been a problem in America. The largest civil rights protest in the United States since the 1960s took place in 2020. It’s not surprising that there were so many civil rights protests in 2020.
Anti-racist activists have faced a backlash. We discussed book bans earlier. They are common attacks because they target education and understanding of racism and race in America. Blatant violence can also be a form racism. An 18-year old planned to attack Black people and killed 10 people in May. His “manifesto,” which explained his motivations, contained the Great Replacement Theory, an ideology claiming that White people have been replaced. According to a Southern Poverty Law Center study, 71% of Republicans believe that liberal politicians seek to “replace more conservative White voters” in order to attain power. While this doesn’t necessarily indicate that 7/10 Republicans will resort to violence, it is indicative of how widespread racist ideologies have become.
This article was helpful to you? You can support our work by following us on Telegram or Mastodon and signing up for our newsletter
