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by DAN REIDER
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We all know governments, and in this particular case the United States government, play a huge role in the path on which citizens move forward over time. However, government does not make every major decision as voters can sometimes accept or reject certain policies or, just as frequently, the government does not get intimately involved with certain issues on a large scale – some of which could also be driving the future course of the society to a high degree.
Our governmental leaders, for example, decide what our relationship with some countries should be. These same leaders may even decide to go to war in different parts of the world, restrict travel in some areas, add high tariffs to overseas products, as well as make many other decisions which ultimately influence our path forward. Internally, government can decide things such as what our fuel policy is – nuclear power, coal, oil and gas, provide funding for road and airport infrastructure, and determine how certain healthcare coverage works – particularly for the poor or aging population.
These policies can all change or even be canceled depending upon who is in charge of the government at a particular time.
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While government makes a lot of these decisions impacting the path on which the nation is moving, some of these have a short-term impact but others have a much longer-term impact on the nation. However, there are many other things which have been impacting and will continue to impact our path forward for a very long time. Each generation, and particularly the older generation at any time, has had a lot of opportunities over their life spans to impact or change the path on which we are proceeding. Often, it is the older generation that has not made some of these needed decisions essentially “kicking the can down the road” while using the excuse that they have worked very hard to get where they are and it is the responsibility of future generations to decide a path forward- especially when the decisions are difficult, controversial, or impact ones income.
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EDUCATION
Take for example, education. For many decades, there have been segments of our society’s population which has not had the resources to adequately educate its youth. In certain areas of our country, there might be problems with inadequate facilities, poor performing or poorly motivated educators or administrators, severe parental shortcomings, health or behavioral issues, and other issues impacting the education of our youth. If we had asked the older generation why they had not sincerely addressed these educational issues around our country, the response would undoubtedly be that they have done and are continuing to do the best that can be done with the funding that we have available in each particular location. What if we asked this older generation this question- would you give back 10% to 20% of your social security checks or of your pension income to make some of the improvements needed? The response would be overwhelmingly that this generation worked very hard for their earnings, did the best they could to help educate the youth of America, and it should be the responsibility of the younger generations to solve this problem. Why is education not a higher priority for everyone?
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OBESITY
How about health issues such as obesity? Obesity is a fast-growing problem in not only the United States but around the world in developed countries as well. As the problem is escalating at a very high rate, should we not be spending more time educating people about what they need to do to main a healthy body mass? Decades ago, we spent an enormous amount of time and money educating the population about the health issues associated with smoking. Should we not be doing the same regarding obesity?
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ENVIRONMENT
Environmental issues are a topic which many of us, but maybe not the majority of us, take a great interest in. Whether or not one believes global warming is natural or man-made, it is nonetheless a concern. Other concerns might include things like deforestation, loss of wetlands, and the polluting of our land, water and air. We have seen large amounts of waste, particularly plastic, continuously being deposited in our oceans with little concern amongst most of us. Even as the United States begins to restart its nuclear energy programs, there has been very little discussion on what to do about the 1000’s of tons of nuclear waste stored all throughout this country. This should be a major concern which has gotten very little interest from the public – except for perhaps the ones who are living close to the nuclear waste sites or those living close to where the United States is thinking about storing nuclear waste.
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MENTAL HEALTH AND HOMELESSNESS
Mental health and homelessness continue to get more and more national attention as it should. However, these both seem to be almost solely the responsibility of local governments. Although there are so many organizations working hard to help address these issues, the problems only seem to be getting worse. No one appears to have a good solution for homelessness. While shelters can help out, they cannot be considered long term solutions. Some say that homeless people just need to find a way to get a job, earn some money, and find an apartment to live in. It is far from that simple.
Homelessness is often accompanied by mental health issues. Expecting a large percent of homeless persons to work even a few hours a day at very simple tasks will require a lot of effort by whoever is responsible for managing this work. And the mental health issues extend far past homeless persons. Whether it is the result of modern technology such as social media, the easy availability of street drugs, a horrific home life, or other possible causes, mental health is not being addressed on the scale which it needs to be. Counseling and programs designed to help those with mental health issues are a good start but only a start. We must accelerate of efforts to work harder on these issues.
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ECONOMY
So much of a country’s wellbeing is based upon its economy. During recessions people are laid off from their jobs, the cases of depression increase significantly, and it becomes harder and harder to provide for one’s family. When manufacturers are making products and stores are selling those products at a high rate, the economy is deemed strong, and things just seem so much better in people’s lives. When people are employed, making money, buying things, going on vacations, etc. the other things going on in the world just don’t seem quite as important.
To keep the US economy strong, people must be buying things. The more things that they buy, the better the economy is said to be. People now have so much more stuff – much of what they really don’t need and often don’t even use for a very long period of time. So, this is what we are doing to keep our economy strong- buying and buying and buying? Is this really what we need to be doing to keep our economy strong? Just continuously buying so much stuff that we don’t really need? Just take a look at the checkout counter at most any big box store especially around holidays. Is this really what we need to be doing? Is this the only way to have a strong economy?
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INFRASTRUCTURE
What about the almost continuous improvements to our country’s road infrastructure? Our answer to areas of the country where the population continues to grow, and the roads are getting more and more crowded, is building more roads or widening existing highways and interstates to support the increased traffic flow. And with more and more cars on the roads, most are with a single person driving during the periods of heaviest traffic. One rarely hears of developing better mass transportation systems or even considering mass transportation systems in areas which currently do not have mass transportation.
If these things were considered, such as is being done in some European countries in recent years, this might eliminate or at least reduce the amount of new road construction currently in construction or planned in the future. Some of these new road projects are massive requiring some or many billions of dollars. In many cases, the public is told that these projects will cut down travel time sometimes as little as 10 or 15 minutes during the heaviest traffic times. Is that really the best long-term solution?
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WORK/LIFE BALANCE
Another generational issue is the life/work balance. Many of our parents could or would have told you about the long hard hours they put in throughout their careers – maybe even during their entire career. The point is not that everyone should have to work 50, 55, or more hours each week to obtain their goals but hard work is just part of our lives in a free society. There are some that want the same benefits as others but are not willing to put in the same effort as those other persons.
And work is not always fair. Some reach a certain level of success via hard work and a little luck which others put in the same amount of hard work and don’t quite reach those same levels. In our society, everyone should understand that working hard, working through the tough times, and keeping a positive attitude is the main key to obtaining a level of success but is not by any means a guarantee. The current view among many of the younger generations that a work week should be 32 hours or less seems to be carrying that life/work balance a little too far with the high expectations some of those persons appear to be expecting.
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CHARITABLE GIVING
We as a nation need to help those who are less fortunate than us at no fault of their own. Many non-profit organizations are supported solely by individuals or companies donating their time and funds to that non-profit. The IRS allows a couple to deduct about $29,000 on their taxes regardless of how much or how little they have actually donated to a charity without itemizing their donations. The average contribution to non-profits is less than $5,500 for those making $100,000 to $250,000 and less than $2500 for those making less than $100,000. Can the average taxpayer not help out more than what they are currently doing (less than 3% of their income) especially given the gracious deduction permitted by the IRS? Apparently not.
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CIVIL COMMUNICATION
Problems continue in our country as the result of persons not able to have honest, courteous dialog with others with whom they might disagree. This is very obvious when watching various news shows or reading articles about conversations not only taking place at the highest level of government as well as the local level – county councils, school boards, etc. and even amongst local citizens. We can all understand that some discussions can become very emotional, but it seems like almost no matter what the topic is- abortion, taxes, the border, foreign policy or most anything – the vast majority of our leaders as well as the average citizen has to try to talk louder and louder than the next person. They just do not want to have a calm, civil discussion regarding most anything even slightly controversial. There are obviously some situations that can raise emotions to a very high level, but does almost every conversation where people disagree have to get to that point?
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RACE RELATIONS
In the earlier part of the twentieth century, there were many things wrong in this country with the way non-whites were treated. No one can deny this. Lack of proper education, limited employment opportunities, difficulty with health issues, and being disrespected in many areas of our society – not by all but by many. This began to change in the 1960’s with the integration of schools, passage of new laws, etc. The speed in which things changed varied throughout the country. No one is saying or implying that all issues in all areas have been corrected where everyone- whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, or any other race always feel that they are being treated equal to others. Surveys show that non-whites feel that they are treated unfairly or disrespectfully at a higher rate than whites. While I am not a non-white and don’t pretend I have experienced some of the disrespect that some non-whites have experienced – or at least not to the same degree – I do feel that the majority of people in our society treat others respectfully.
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THE PATH FORWARD
The older generation, in my opinion, has done a great job in many areas – keeping America safe, science and technology, advancements in medical fields, space exploration, and so many other important areas in our culture. However, it is some of the other areas which are now strongly influencing our path forward as a society. Some of these need to be addressed soon or even immediately. Without addressing these, with “pushing the can down the road”, we should all be worried about where we might be 25, 30 or 40 years in the future. Of course, many of the older generation may not be here. But does that mean that they (me) should not try to help steer the United States in a better direction? Maybe not if you are one of those who believe that we are already moving forward in the best way possible.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Dan Reider was a consulting mechanical engineer for more than 30 years designing primarily educational and healthcare facilities. He is currently working as a Project Manager for the Construction and Planning Department at the University of South Carolina.
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2 comments
This is a meandering editorial which simply lists numerous issues without offering concrete solutions. We all know the problems that face our country.
What is needed are effective proven solutions that can be implemented in a cost effective way. The author doesn’t even address the affordability crisis which is threatening our nation’s economy and is made worse by tariffs which are nothing more than a tax on the poor and middle class. Nor does the author mention the rigged system that gives the ultra rich income and estate tax breaks while health care costs are rising for everyone else.
A few things that would solve a lot of problems:
1. Make Medicare and Medicare supplemental insurance available to all citizens, and then let insurance companies sell whatever product they want. If you choose private insurance, there will need to be a waiting period after switching from private insurance to Medicare to prevent people from dropping their private insurance as soon as they become sick, but let them sign up if they lose their private insurance. There should be open enrollment once a year.
2. Free or low-cost higher education to everyone who can do the work. This is done by excellent public institutions and trade schools that are properly funded. Private schools can still charge for their services as they see fit, but no need for student loans, as students will either pay from their family resources, get scholarships, private grants, or private loans if they want to attend private schools, or go to the public institutions (which I reiterate must be excellent schools at a low cost).
3. Shore up Medicare and Social Security so people don’t live in fear of being without income and health care when they are old or sick.
4. Shore up Medicaid so that people will not live in fear of being bankrupted by long-term care, or possibly offer a Medicare long-term care policy, for a reasonable price, with lower prices the earlier you take the policy. Possibly provide a tax credit for children who help their low-income parents pay for the policy.
5. Free or very low-cost Child care for working families (single-parent families or two-parent families where both parents work). This simply has to be. You can’t work if you can’t care for your children.
6. The most controversial is to raise the minimum wage. At least to where it would be if it had kept up with the rate of inflation. This is simply absurd. In other countries minimum wage is much higher, while in the US, it has been frozen for decades now. The cost of a McDonald’s burger is only about 10% more in Denmark than in the US, and the minimum wage is much higher. So it’s not minimum wage.
7. Finally, to the extent we have an immigration crisis, it is our own policies that are making it happen. The belief that getting cheaper and cheaper goods is the road to success and security as opposed secure income that keeps up and or exceeds inflation. Why do you think construction companies turn to immigrants? To build cheaper buildings. Start paying higher wages, and increase the criminal penalty on people who hire illegal immigrants; and yes, I know Trump and a lot of his Republican buddies in the construction industry have made hundreds of millions on the backs of illegal immigrants.
This is not all, but it’s a great start to solving our problems. Will this increase taxes? Not a lot, but yes some. But we have been cutting and cutting and cutting taxes on the richest Americans and richest corporations for decades now, and all that has resulted is higher and higher deficits, a shrinking middle class, a growing working poor class, and a massively richer upper class. We have greater wealth disparity between the richest Americans and average Americans than at any time since the late 1800s Gilded Age. It’s not working for the vast majority, and it’s not getting better. Trump’s greed and corruption has only made it worse. We have to refocus the country on making the average American successful and secure. We have to stop the fixation on billionaires and “trickle down economics,” which is not even a real thing. Nothing trickles down. That is why we are in a new Gilded Age.