I was asked recently, “With all of the problems facing the United States these days, which do you think is the worst?” That is a challenging question, but I’ll take a shot at it. Let’s dig.
First, I’ll list the major problems (in my opinion). There is no shortage of issues to choose from, but I’ll try to limit the list to LARGE issues (my inability to solve a crossword puzzle doesn’t rank here). Each of these problems are important, and require serious thought, time, and resources to solve.
Illegal immigration. The US has always had immigration, since before we were even a country. Heck, we are all from somewhere else, ancestry-wise. But as long as we have had borders, we have had legal and illegal immigration. Throw in our more-than-generous social safety net, including free primary education, Welfare programs for the poor, medical care for the indigent, food programs for the hungry, etc., you create a magnet for less fortunate around the world. Add our economic level of freedom (not as high as I’d like, but still better than most countries), and you have conditions beneficial enough for people to leave their home countries, at risk of life and resources, to come here.
That our LEGAL immigration system needs overhauling is almost a given: it should not cost thousands of dollars and years of legalese for a healthy, productive person from somewhere else to become an American. The cottage industry of ‘immigration attorneys’ should simply not exist. Lawyers getting rich over what should be a simple procedure is nearly obscene.
Violent Political Upheaval. Whether it is ANTIFA in Portland, BLM in Minnesota, or gangbangers in Chicago, there are pockets of severely violent behavior going on. It is simply too dangerous in some areas to survive day-to-day. The failure of local governments to rein in the violence is nearly complete. And, regardless of your political leanings, one must agree that the PRIMARY function of local and State governments is assure the safety of their constituency…right?
COVID-19, Variants, Vaccines, and Governmental responses. As a country, and maybe as a planet, we simply cannot shake the ramifications of this virus. The good news: the survivability of COVID is quite good. The bad news: those that are adversely affected by it are facing real danger—sometimes, life-threatening. It is tough to tell a father, mother, wife, husband, or child that yeah, their close relative just died, but it’s only .003 percent fatal. The numbers aren’t terribly relevant to those that have lost loved ones.
But we have careened from the virus itself to the vaccine controversy! New drugs, utilizing mRNA modifications for the first time in humans, are now nationwide. That they are still in the Experimental Usage Authorization (EUA) phase seems to get ignored. Note that as EUAs, the drug manufacturers are EXEMPT from liability! They simply cannot be sued for damages that may occur due to usage of their vaccines. Former rules or laws that prevent requiring EUA medications as a condition of employment are completely irrelevant. Many governmental and Statewide employers have told employees: get vaccinated, or your employment ends. This will likely get resolved in courtrooms somewhere. Those for vaccinations seem to have bullying rights over those that do not trust the new meds. Either way, for the first time in history, many feel that everyone else is responsible for their health and well-being. We are on the verge of ‘vaccine passports’—lacking sufficient paperwork may prevent various modes of public transportation, attending some event venues, even prevent utilizing some businesses in some cities. This is the very antithesis of freedom, yet we seem to readily accept it, begrudgingly. Amazing.
Government spending and debt. Government overspending has ALWAYS been a problem, at least for the last 100 years or so. But in the last three years, what was once a major issue has now become one on steroids. No longer satisfied with million- or billion-dollar programs, now we have had TRILLION-dollar bills passed! To put that in perspective, in 2019, the US had RECORD tax receipts for the YEAR at $3.6T! It truly does not matter what they are spending the money on, it is fiscal insanity. It would be as if a family making $50K/year, with a credit card debt of $500K, just borrowed $10K more for chewing gum.
So, which problem do I think is the worst? None of the above. I see the problems above as symptoms, not the disease. IMHO, the biggest problem facing the US: the failure of its entire governmental system! It may truly be the entropy of self-governance, where the political class will ALWAYS trend towards elevating themselves beyond everyone else; where the ‘rules’ are completely ignored, over time; where lawlessness is overlooked; where our ‘justice’ and ‘investigative’ bureaus naturally just become tools of government, to damage political opponents; where Constitutional ‘checks and balances’—where each of the three branches of government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) should keep the others from abusing their limits—simply disappear. And if the Federal government fails, of course State and local governments follow suit. Does anyone recognize the ‘Representative Democracy’ as it is currently constituted? The People of the US (for the most part) do not want unfettered illegal immigration, unchecked violent crime, unlimited governmental spending, or the complete loss of freedom due to COVID. The sad news: IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT ANYMORE. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the biggest problem we face: our Constitutional Representative Republic is completely broken.
Thank you for taking the time to read my article! Feel free to add comments (good or bad) in the box below. In addition, there is a link at the bottom of the article to view other items I’ve written at Global Liberty Media. Enjoy!
