 |
| Image credit: http://thisistheendoftheworldasweknowit.com |
Life evolves in unexpected ways, so Americans
frequently find themselves reacting to the changing social landscape. Politics, economics and other sociological
factors interact as prevailing attitudes change, resulting in significant
shifts in our approach to life. Making
ends meet ranks high on our list of priorities, so our biggest challenges
frequently involve employment opportunities and social mobility. But there are other issues facing Americans,
outside the day to day struggle to succeed.
Social divide within the United States and America's
international standing are additional considerations to account for, which each
underscore how perception and global interactions shape the challenges facing
Americans. As priorities continue to
shift and the playing field changes for Americans, citizens and leaders share
responsibility for restoring vitality to the U.S. economy and protecting
important features of the American experience.
Some key challenges facing Americans include:
Economic
Recovery
Economic recovery following the global recession
continues to unfold in ambiguous ways.
Some argue that we have found firm ground once again, but there is
little consensus among analysts that we are experiencing a robust turnaround in
markets destroyed by the conditions experienced in recent years.
The housing market has bounced back in some ways,
and consistently low interest rates continue to prop-up availability. But housing prices are increasing and
financing is harder than ever to secure, including a recent strengthening of
the income requirements for conventional mortgages. Regional victories support favorable
unemployment numbers, but improvements have not yet eclipsed targeted reductions
in the number of people out of work.
Political
Polarization
Fractional politics dominate the landscape;
especially in the Federal Government, where Republicans and Democrats are
staunchly divided on key issues. Driven
by force-fed health care legislation; the trend away from bipartisanship
continues to stall legislative progress in important areas. Regardless of which party controls the House
and Senate, or wins the next presidential term, for that matter, elected
leaders need to cross party lines more than they do today. The stakes are too high for ideologues to
steamroll public opinion, without including diverse points of view in the
discussions.
Manufacturing
and Trade
The United States has long been on a path away from
self-sufficiency. Instead of
manufacturing the things we need to sustain high standards of living, we import
far more then we export. And we fail to
recognize and regulate the value of trade, so America's consumer markets have
become overrun with low cost alternatives to goods that were once proudly
produced in the USA. China, Mexico, and
other regions have become primary producers of the things American consumers
demand, including big-ticket items like cars and trucks.
Foreign
Debt
In addition to turning to other countries to supply
consumer essentials, the United States has increasingly sold assets to
artificially prop-up its economy. And
foreign debt continues to spiral out of control in the US, as the country
strives to maintain a standard of living beyond the means furnished by its
economic output. The United States
carries more foreign debt than any other country, and the number recently
eclipsed the GDP.
Social
Ills
Crime and corrections are major concerns in America,
as well as the underlying shortcomings leading to increased crime rates. While some areas are seeing reductions in the
number of violent offenses, drug abuse and corruption continue to plague
countless regions of the United States.
In effect, the crime rate has not changed dramatically over the past two
decades, but its ebb and flow has yielded particularly dangerous trends, at
times.
Like many challenges facing Americans, controlling
crime relies on strong economic foundations, which foster mobility and
security. By supporting access to jobs
and education, leaders set the stage for overcoming many of society's
shortcomings.
Many of America's most pressing concerns are tied to
economics, including the country's need for jobs and employment-education. Crossing party lines to craft meaningful
pro-business legislation and making markets friendly for investors are two
promising strategies for revitalizing faltering aspects of American
society. Economic growth and diminished
reliance on foreign capital are also essential for long-term American
prosperity.
Author
Byline:
This guest post is contributed by Rebecca Gray, who
writes for background check. She
welcomes your comments at her email id: GrayRebecca14@gmail.com.
