The BLM and racial injustice outcry in recent weeks seems to have finally shocked most of America into believing that change is truly needed. The most immediate need is for reform of policing. But if we only address the police issue, then we miss the bigger problems of injustice and inequality in our society and will not make the kind of progress that is desperately needed.
The ever-increasing disparity in income and wealth across our nation is a key underlying factor in all of our social ills. Attacking this problem directly is problematic because it impinges on sacred cow principles of capitalist and market doctrine. Perhaps it would be more expedient and successful to tackle the consequences of wealth disparity as basic social problems and thus achieve some transfer of wealth by the back door. By providing important basic necessities of life for all citizens, we would significantly reduce the negative effects of income disparity.
Besides police reform, there are six major areas in our society that need dramatic overhaul to reduce the impact of income disparities and the legacies of slavery and poverty: Healthcare, Education, Childcare, Transportation, Housing, Addiction/Mental Health and Incarceration. There are models for improvement in all of these areas in other developed nations.
Our police appear to have increasingly been trained to embrace a military style, us-versus-them approach to policing, rather than a collaborative, neighborhood-development form of policing. A national effort to transform policing into a true ‘hearts and minds’ public service instead of an adversarial, authoritarian relationship would be a great first step. Police budgets should increase police salaries and decrease the purchase of military-style weaponry and gadgets. Police forces should not be utilized as a means to supplement city and county budgets, which has historically created a chasm between the police and the public.
The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the ugly truth of our failed healthcare system, despite the heroic efforts of healthcare providers. We need basic universal healthcare. Private insurance systems can continue for more affluent citizens, but every citizen should be given basic medical help and preventive care. In the long run, this may actually be less expensive than our current system, as we currently spend more per capita than other developed nations who are providing universal care.
Every American should be given an education sufficient to prepare them for a job, either through vocational or university training. This is the case in most EU nations, where even medical school has only a nominal fee. The current student debt problem in the U.S. is particularly pernicious in underserved and minority communities.
Early education through secondary must be carefully analyzed and improved to allow marginalized populations the opportunity to break out of poverty. Teachers should be paid more to ensure that a high quality of training is achieved.
Free or subsidized childcare should be provided for low-income families. The single income family is no longer feasible in a low-income household, and the cost of childcare for working parents is a huge chunk of their net pay. Again, European nations provide free or heavily subsidized childcare for all citizens. There is no excuse for the U.S. to be the outlier in this basic social service.
Car ownership is a very expensive luxury for low-income families. Transportation systems providing economical means of moving around communities must be extended and improved so that automobiles are not necessary for most families. Ride-sharing options may also be helpful. This is also a quality of life issue, as low-income citizens often spend hours of their day traveling to and from work through inadequate public transportation systems.
Low-income housing is a complex topic and has proven to be a stubborn and challenging obstacle to improving low-income neighborhoods. It also impacts education, as schools are tied to neighborhoods. Ideally, neighborhoods should be built with a mix of housing levels, but this has not been achievable except in rare cases in the past. The problem of decent housing will have to be studied and may only improve as other social programs take effect.
Addiction, mental health, homelessness and incarceration are inter-related issues that plague America much more than other developed nations. Justice reform efforts are underway and should improve the incarceration rate in the near future. Prisons need to begin to focus more on rehabilitation, which will require more reform and a more enlightened attitude about crime and punishment. Addiction and drugs must be viewed primarily as social problems and not as a ‘war’ to avoid the long term negative consequences that we have experienced to date. Social services and facilities for mental health must be expanded significantly to rescue many of our homeless from the streets and give them a chance to recover their lives.
If we dedicate ourselves to using some of our vast wealth to address the problems described above, then we will begin to move toward a healthy, more egalitarian society. It won’t be cheap. It will require a willingness for the more affluent to part with some of their accumulated treasure and a change in the way that we budget our nation’s expenses – less toward defense for example (we already spend more than the next 8 nations combined!!)
The alternative is a sad, steady unraveling of our social fabric, which is already showing clear signs of distress. New space programs, tech start-ups and stock market run-ups are lovely, but for America to truly be exceptional we need to quickly turn our attention to creating a better America for all of its citizens.
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