# What are the US's biggest problems and how do we fix them **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 6, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964 "2010-01-06T22:01:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/1 "2010-01-06T22:01:01Z")
Jesus minus 191 other countries on earth = USA! Either way, with all the despondency I think it is time for some hope building. And what better way than a bunch of quasi-anonymous hobbyists on the internet doing a thought exercise. So what are the huge problems in the US, and what can be done to fix them? It seems some of our problems are unique, while some are shared with the rest of the world. Climate change and peak oil are huge global problems, but the trade deficit and decaying infrastructure are US problems. Some of the problems facing China like environmentalism are not as big here. - Entitlement crisis due to medicare and social security will top 70 trillion over the next century - We have a trade deficit - We are losing our scientific edge globally (due to the rising of other nations, which isn’t bad overall, but we are losing our competitiveness in R&D) - We are going to hit peak oil - Climate change is happening - We are facing state and federal budget deficits - Health care is unaffordable and will keep becoming more and more - The world is facing natural resource shortages (not limited to oil) - Consumer debt is extremely high - Our society is plutocratic - Our infrastructure is falling apart - The events of 9/11 and Iraq have destroyed morale - People on both ends of the political spectrum feel ignored in mainstream politics (liberals and teabaggers) - Many people do not have enough for retirement So with all these problems going on at once, which brown people should be bomb to distract us and fill ourselves with pride? ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/2 "2010-01-06T23:02:29Z")
From your list, it would appear that either 38 million people have made a terrible blunder lately, or we suck less (or perhaps they came here to escape the bombing?). I think we suck less, and I take hope in that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chen019](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f19dbf/32.png) [@Chen019](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chen019)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/3 "2010-01-06T23:37:55Z")
> [@](#): > > So what are the huge problems in the US, and what can be done to fix them? Here’s one: > [@](#): > > But the influx has instead been composed mainly of the poorly educated, the unskilled, and the illiterate. Such immigrants will likely soon dominate the state’s overall population and politics. > > In 2005, the California K12 school system was 48.5 percent Hispanic, compared with 30.9 percent white. By now it is above 50 percent Hispanic. Two-thirds of kindergarten students were Hispanic, most of them unable to speak English. > For a closer glimpse of what’s in store for California, look at the Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest in California and the second largest in the country. Of its roughly 700,000 students, almost three-quarters are Hispanic, 8.9 percent are white, and 11.2 percent are black. More than half of the Latino students (about 300,000) are “English learners” and, depending on whether you believe the district or independent scholars, anywhere between a third and a half drop out of high school, following significant attrition in middle school. A recent study by UC Santa Barbara’s California Dropout Research Project estimates that high-school dropouts in 2007 alone will cost the state $24.2 billion in future economic losses. > > Even those who graduate aren’t necessarily headed to success. According to one study, 69 percent of Latino high-school graduates “do not meet college requirements or satisfy prerequisites for most jobs that pay a living wage.” It is difficult to see how the majority-Hispanic labor force of the future can provide the skills that the sophisticated Los Angeles economy demands. Already studies show that as many as 700,000 Los Angeles Latinos and some 65 percent of the city’s illegal immigrants work in L.A.'s huge underground economy. > > The unhappy picture in Los Angeles is replicated to one degree or another across much of California and is taking a huge toll on the state’s economic competitiveness and long-term prospects. California’s educational system, once easily the best in the country, is today mired in mediocrity near the bottom among the 50 states as judged by National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests in math, science, reading, and writing. And for the first time in its history, California is experiencing an increase in adult illiteracy. In 2003, it had the highest adult illiteracy in the United States, 23 percent nearly 50 percent higher than a decade earlier. In some counties (Imperial at 41 percent, Los Angeles at 33 percent) illiteracy approaches sub-Saharan levels. > > … > > One myth is that because America is a country of immigrants and has successfully absorbed waves of immigration in the past, it can absorb this wave. But the argument neglects two key differences between past waves and the current influx. First, the immigrant population is more than double today what it was following the most massive previous immigration wave (that of the late 19th century). Second, and much more important, as scholars from the Manhattan Institute have shown, earlier immigrants were much more likely to bring with them useful skills. Some Hispanic immigrants certainly do integrate, but most do not. Research has shown that even after 20 years in the country, most illegal aliens (the overwhelming majority of whom are Hispanic) and their children remain poor, unskilled, and culturally isolated they constitute a new permanent underclass. > > Perhaps the most disingenuous myth about illegal immigrants is that they do not impose any cost on society. The reality is that even those who work and half do not, according to the Pew Hispanic Center cannot subsist on the wages they receive and depend on public assistance to a large degree. Research on Los Angeles immigrants by Harvard University scholar George J. Borjas shows that 40.1 percent of immigrant families with non-citizen heads of household receive welfare, compared with 12.7 percent of households with native-born heads. Illegal immigrants also increase public expenditures on health care, education, and prisons. In California today, illegal immigrants’ cost to the taxpayer is estimated to be $13 billion half the state’s budget deficit. > > The state should stop providing welfare and other social services to illegal aliens as existing statutes demand and severely punish employers who break the law by hiring illegal immigrants. This would immediately remove powerful economic incentives for illegal immigration, and millions of illegal aliens would return to their countries. Instead, with President Obama in the White House and the Democrats controlling Congress, an amnesty for the country’s 13 million illegal immigrants may be soon to come. > > Milton Friedman once said that unrestrained immigration and the welfare state do not mix. Must we wait until California catches up with Mexico to realize how right he was? [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112167023](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112167023) ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/4 "2010-01-06T23:38:45Z")
We have a fairly sizable population that is hungry, and a fairly sizable population that is poor, and… ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/5 "2010-01-07T00:12:56Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > We have a fairly sizable population that is hungry, and a fairly sizable population that is poor, and… Heck, the _whole problem_ is the population. If we had no population, we would have no problems - none at all! We seriously need to get working on this. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/6 "2010-01-07T00:43:54Z")
The lack of personal jet packs and flying cars. If only we had jet packs and flying cars then all our problems would be solved! -XT ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/7 "2010-01-07T00:59:00Z")
We’ve become a nation of warmongers. Quit trying to police the world while supporting both democracy and dictators. Scrap the war machine, return most of the money to the people and spend the rest improving our infrastructure and health care systems. ---
**Author:** ![Chen019](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f19dbf/32.png) [@Chen019](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chen019)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/8 "2010-01-07T01:01:19Z")
Also the delusional idea that there needs to be equality of results for all groups. It is leading to craziness like this: > [@](#): > > [NBCDFW.com](http://NBCDFW.com) The Chicago Police Department is seriously considering scrapping the police entrance exam, sources tell Fran Spielman. > > Dropping the exam would bolster minority hiring and avert legal battles, according to one source, while others confirm that the exam could be scrapped to open the process to as many people as possible. > > However, the lack of an exam would make Chicago the lone major city without one, and experts contend that the exam is integral to eliminating unqualified applicants. [http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/chicago-police-scrap-entrance-exam-80790827.html](http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/chicago-police-scrap-entrance-exam-80790827.html) ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/9 "2010-01-07T01:06:58Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > So with all these problems going on at once, which brown people should be bomb to distract us and fill ourselves with pride? I’m so fucking sick of this “brown people” meme. As in, “we’re killing brown people on the other side of the world for oil” or whatever; I heard it repeated ad infinitum in a million different variations ever since the wars in the Middle East started. What the hell is the point of bringing up their race like that? I know it is _always_ used ironically, by liberal hipsters, as if it is coming from the mouth of some big fat truck-driving Confederate-flag brute, not actually representing the genuine thoughts of the person saying it - but it still annoys the hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/10 "2010-01-07T01:14:37Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I’m so fucking sick of this “brown people” meme. As in, “we’re killing brown people on the other side of the world for oil” or whatever; I heard it repeated ad infinitum in a million different variations ever since the wars in the Middle East started. What the hell is the point of bringing up their race like that? I know it is _always_ used ironically, by liberal hipsters, as if it is coming from the mouth of some big fat truck-driving Confederate-flag brute, not actually representing the genuine thoughts of the person saying it - but it still annoys the hell out of me. The people who actually might say this wouldn’t say “brown people” - that is _way_ too PC. But really the princible being expressed here is isolationism/apathy about others, or more accurately the liberals are expressing scorn for isolationism/apathy about others. That they can spice it up with implied racism is just a bonus. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/11 "2010-01-07T01:16:05Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > The people who actually might say this wouldn’t say “brown people” - that is _way_ too PC. > > But really the princible being expressed here is isolationism/apathy about others, or more accurately the liberals are expressing scorn for isolationism/apathy about others. That they can spice it up with implied racism is just a bonus. You forgot the religious aspect, I threw in some phony religious extremism in my OP too. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/12 "2010-01-07T02:34:53Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Heck, the _whole problem_ is the population. If we had no population, we would have no problems - none at all! We seriously need to get working on this. Damn right. The biggest problem is abortion, not enough of. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/13 "2010-01-07T03:18:35Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > So with all these problems going on at once, which brown people should be bomb to distract us and fill ourselves with pride? I say bomb them all. That way we can be sure we got the right ones. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/14 "2010-01-07T03:35:27Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > - We are going to hit peak oil > > - The world is facing natural resource shortages (not limited to oil) Peak oil? As prices rise alternative ways of making oil become competitive to traditional methods. Which other natural resources are we facing shortages on? ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/15 "2010-01-07T04:09:15Z")
Quit invading the world, quit inviting the world. (Less succinctly, get harsher on illegals and make it easier for high-skilled immigrants to get in. Currently we’re doing the reverse.) > [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I’m so fucking sick of this “brown people” meme. As in, “we’re killing brown people on the other side of the world for oil” or whatever; I heard it repeated ad infinitum in a million different variations ever since the wars in the Middle East started. What the hell is the point of bringing up their race like that? I know it is _always_ used ironically, by liberal hipsters, as if it is coming from the mouth of some big fat truck-driving Confederate-flag brute, not actually representing the genuine thoughts of the person saying it - but it still annoys the hell out of me. Why be right when you can be smug and unanswerable? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/16 "2010-01-07T04:25:22Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I’m so fucking sick of this “brown people” meme. As in, “we’re killing brown people on the other side of the world for oil” or whatever; I heard it repeated ad infinitum in a million different variations ever since the wars in the Middle East started. What the hell is the point of bringing up their race like that? It helps underline how little we’ve changed. America is still heavily racist. > [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I know it is _always_ used ironically, by liberal hipsters, as if it is coming from the mouth of some big fat truck-driving Confederate-flag brute, not actually representing the genuine thoughts of the person saying it - but it still annoys the hell out of me. Well, too bad. The brown people we love to mass murder feel worse about being killed than you do about the killing being commented on, I assure you. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/17 "2010-01-07T05:28:28Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > It helps underline how little we’ve changed. America is still heavily racist. Imputation’s cheaper than argument. ---
**Author:** ![Chen019](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f19dbf/32.png) [@Chen019](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chen019)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/18 "2010-01-07T05:41:41Z")
> [@](#): > > It helps underline how little we’ve changed. America is still heavily racist. Sometimes violently so: > [@](#): > > The Denver Police Department announced today that they have made 32 arrests during a sweep to end a four-month spree of what police said were racially motivated assaults and robberies in downtown Denver, including the LoDo entertainment district. > > A task force comprised of the Denver Police, FBI and the Denver District Attorney’s Office investigated 26 incidents in which groups of black males verbally harassed and then assaulted white or Hispanic males, according to Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman. > > Many of the victims were robbed after being assaulted. > **[Mass arrests made in downtown Denver beatings, robberies](https://www.denverpost.com/2009/11/20/mass-arrests-made-in-downtown-denver-beatings-robberies/)** > > Mass arrests made in downtown Denver beatings, robberies > [@](#): > > Troy Knapp’s killing was 10 years in the making, a gradual death by inches and degrees. > > His brutal beating at the hands of an angry mob sparked outrage and spurred marches a decade ago. But long after the headlines faded, Knapp soldiered on in a battered and broken body that no longer responded to his commands. [http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jan/03/they-beat-him-to-death-he-just-didnt-die/](http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jan/03/they-beat-him-to-death-he-just-didnt-die/) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/19 "2010-01-07T06:15:57Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > Peak oil? As prices rise alternative ways of making oil become competitive to traditional methods. > > Which other natural resources are we facing shortages on? The Hirsch report claims it’ll take 2 decades of a ‘crash program’ to overcome a shortage of liquid fuels. > **[Hirsch report | Three scenarios](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirsch_report#Three_scenarios)** > > 1.Waiting until world oil production peaks before taking crash program action leaves the world with a significant liquid fuel deficit for more than two decades. | > 2.Initiating a mitigation crash program 10 years before world oil peaking helps considerably but still leaves a liquid fuels shortfall roughly a decade after the time that oil would have peaked. | > 3.Initiating a mitigation crash program 20 years before peaking appears to offer the possibility of avoiding a world liquid fuels shortfall... Three scenarios Waiting until world oil production peaks before taking crash program action leaves the world with a significant liquid fuel deficit for more than two decades. Initiating a mitigation crash program 10 years before world oil peaking helps considerably but still leaves a liquid fuels shortfall roughly a decade after the time that oil would have peaked. Initiating a mitigation crash program 20 years before peaking appears to offer the possibility of avoiding a world liquid fuels shortfall for the forecast period. We will be facing shortages of various raw materials. However alternatives, better recycling and better extraction should help. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=530792&highlight=shortage](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=530792&highlight=shortage) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964/20 "2010-01-07T06:54:06Z")
In my opinion, the worst problem facing the US right now is the lobbying system. You can’t fix _anything_ else until you fix that, and you can’t fix the lobbying system because the lobbyists and the corporations/powerful people they represent won’t let you. You’re basically screwed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-uss-biggest-problems-and-how-do-we-fix-them/523964.md?page=2)