Some Thoughts on Making America Great(er) -- And Change or Die

Some Thoughts On Making America Great(er) — And Change or Die

Today I offer some thoughts on the need to “Make America Great” or at least “greater”. All statistics in this note are confirmed by online search at http://Perplexity.ai

Americans live in very contentious times, not only politically but socially and economically. The slogan “Make America Great Again” resonates with millions of Americans who feel disenfranchised and forgotten by political elites. There is a creeping sense that something is wrong with America, that only a dictator or a king can remedy. Comparisons to Germany in the 1930s are common and frightening for people of good will around the world.

The comparisons are being manipulated by some to generate a politics of resentment and grievance. I believe that is a profound mistake.

These things being said, America faces significant issues that will become crises in the next 20 years. To face those crises successfully on behalf of our kids and grand kids, adults will need to do some hard thinking around the idea “let change begin with me.”

Poverty is a significant issue in the United States, affecting millions of Americans despite the country's overall wealth. As of 2020, 37.2 million people in the U.S. were living in poverty. If you are born poor, the strong odds are that you will remain poor all of your life, poorly educated, in poor health, living in a “food desert” without local access to healthy foods, and largely ignorant of what those foods are; locked out of the American Dream of upward economic mobility.

Homelessness in America has reached a critical point, with recent data showing record-high numbers of people experiencing homelessness across the country. In 2023, 653,104 people experienced homelessness in the U.S., representing a record high and a 12% increase from 2022. On any given night, more than half a million people experience homelessness in the United States. Over 110,000 children were without homes in America in 2023. And the response of local governments is increasingly to send police to break up homeless encampments and drive desperate people away.

Where, pray tell, are they going to go?

These trends are aggravated by wage stagnation and increasing wealth inequality in America. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Wealth inequality in America has become increasingly pronounced, with significant disparities in wealth distribution across different demographics. Since the 1970s, wages for the majority of American workers have stagnated, failing to keep pace with inflation and rising living costs. This stagnation has been particularly pronounced for low- and moderate-income earners, leading to a widening gap between the wealthy and the rest of the population.

The wealthiest 1% of households hold approximately 32.3% of the nation's wealth, while the bottom 50% possess only about 2.6%. The top 0.1% of households have seen their share of wealth rise to 14% in 2023, up from 9% in 1990, indicating a growing concentration of wealth at the very top. In 2023, the wealth distribution is stark: the top 10% of households control 66.9% of total household wealth, with an average wealth of $6.7 million. The bottom 50% of Americans average only $51,000 in net wealth, accounting for a mere 3% of total wealth in the country.

The sustainability of the U.S. Social Security retirement system is a topic of significant concern, particularly as demographic shifts and economic factors pose challenges to its long-term viability. The Social Security system, officially known as the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program, provides benefits to retirees, disabled individuals, and survivors of deceased workers. It is primarily funded through payroll taxes collected under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). According to the Social Security Board of Trustees, the OASI trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2033. If this occurs, incoming payroll tax revenue would only be sufficient to pay about 77% of scheduled benefits. This impending shortfall raises concerns about the program's ability to meet its obligations.

American tax policy and “Trickle Down” economics promotes these disparities.

America’s rich (and the world’s rich) are not paying working people a living wage. Many corporate CEOs pay a lower rate of taxation on income than the secretaries who work in their outer offices. It may not be going too far to say that the Rich effectively “own” most governments, through the corruption created by influence peddling and political campaign contributions.

The leading causes of death in the United States, based on the most recent data, are:

1. Heart Disease: 702,880 deaths
2. Cancer: 608,371 deaths
3. Accidents (Unintentional Injuries): 227,039 deaths
4. COVID-19: 186,552 deaths
5. Stroke (Cerebrovascular Diseases): 165,393 deaths
6. Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases: 147,382 deaths
7. Alzheimer’s Disease: 120,122 deaths
8. Diabetes: 101,209 deaths
9. Nephritis, Nephrotic Syndrome, and Nephrosis (Kidney Diseases): 57,937 deaths
10. Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis: 54,803 deaths

Many of these deaths can be traced to avoidable causes: poor diet with too much salt and sugar, high rates of obesity, tobacco in any form. Unspoken in death statistics are the increasing roles of depression and suicide.

Depression in America has reached alarming levels, significantly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and various social stressors. Here are the key findings regarding the state of depression in the United States:

As of early 2023, 29.0% of U.S. adults reported having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives, a notable increase from previous years. Currently, 17.8% of adults are either experiencing depression or receiving treatment for it. Rates of depression have seen a sharp rise since 2015, with women and young adults experiencing the most significant increases. Over 36.7% of women reported a lifetime diagnosis of depression, compared to 20.4% of men.

In 2022, over three million cases of child abuse or neglect were investigated. The total number of child fatalities due to abuse and neglect was 1,990 in 2022, marking a 3% increase from 2021 and an 18% increase since 2017. This trend highlights the persistent dangers children face, The most common form of maltreatment is neglect, accounting for 74.3% of cases, followed by physical abuse (17%) and sexual abuse (10.6%). Psychological mistreatment was noted in 6.8% of cases. And we should not forget that child abuse is vastly under-reported to authorities.

In 2021, the U.S. recorded 48,830 gun-related deaths, the highest number then on record. This figure includes 26,328 suicides (54%) and 20,958 murders (43%). Gun violence continues to be a significant public health crisis, with the U.S. having a gun-related homicide rate that is 25 times higher than that of other high-income countries. And yet many American public figures and political lobby groups continue to prattle on about “Second Amendment Rights.”

My succinct response to such nonsense is “Bull Feathers!” No American citizen “needs” a military assault weapon or a 30-round banana-clip magazine or a “bump stock” to convert their weapon to full-automatic.

We can name many other American and world crises.

- Climate change is rendering large parts of the world more dangerous, and increasingly beginning to inundate coastal areas and lowlands where much of the world’s food is grown. It is arguable that we may already have reached a “tipping point” where population exceeds that carrying capacity of the planet. Malthus was right.

- World governments are dithering while the planet burns. To reduce further global warming and atmospheric rises in C0–2 and pollutants requires major changes to more sustainable energy technology. Governments don’t want to tax their rich adequately to fund such programs, and private enterprise is inadequate to do so.

If these crises are to be managed (they cannot be avoided), we will need a paradigm change — a widespread shift in our thinking about personal prosperity, wealth, and shared responsibility. We and our kids and grand kids face a common phenomenon that is often seen in mental health therapy.

Healing doesn’t begin until we wake up and realize that it’s either change or die. And change begins or ends with US.