So, given the somber message of my last couple of posts, I decided to dig into polling data to see what the biggest problems are right now and where we can improve things.
All of the data will be pulled from here.
Inflation
Inflation is the biggest problem we face as a country, with most people pointing this out. While the GOP thinks it's a bigger issue than the democrats (probably because a democrat is in office), it's something that's major on both sides.
Honestly, the worst of inflation is over. Inflation has dropped to around 3.7%. While that is slightly elevated and higher than our normal target of 2% (or my own target of 3%), it's much better and it shows it's slowing down.
Still, that doesn't mean that people have adjusted to life post inflation. We just went through like 20% inflation in just two years, with certain goods and services being MUCH worse. It is a crisis. Especially with things like housing. It's one of the reasons I've put housing as a much higher priority than it used to be. Idk how people are supposed to live these days, and the only way to get housing costs down is to build more, and to spread people out across the country.
We also need to give people a UBI, or advocate for higher wages if we want people to have the same living standards and purchasing power they used to have. Part of the reason I support UBI isn't just my anti work ambitions, or the poverty rate, but also because I think a lot of Americans, especially in the middle class and below, have lost ground. While for decades prices were stable, their living standards were declining all the same. And now with this inflationary crisis, it's harder to live than ever.
For me, a solution to this is just...redistribution. The top 20% of the country are doing well, while the bottom 80% aren't. And we need solutions that help the bottom 80%. What would help the bottom 80%? UBI.
Still, given a lot of people are blaming inflation on democrats spending money, UBI is a hard sell.
Healthcare
Uh...my #2 issue for years. Medicare for all or public option. Do it. Biden should get out there advocating for more significant fixes. He ran on a public option but did little to actually get it done. He hasn't even pushed it at all. he should try to in election year and make it a reelection issue.
Let's face it, the GOP has no solutions here. Only the left does. And the more left, the better the solution. I'm not full on single payer these days but philosophically I love the idea, I just don't like the costs and how they could conflict with my UBI ambitions.
Honestly democrats? Time to admit the affordable care act wasnt the best framework to fix healthcare. i know this is "personal" for biden as he helped craft this under the obama administration and he doesn't wanna go against his best friend's policy, but yeah, this is why we never should've elected Biden. He wasnt the guy for the job, and he's stuck in the past when we need a solution for the future.
Still, he ran on a public option, where's the public option, Joe?
Oh, it won't pass congress? Do what you did with student debt, try anyway. use the bully pulpit. Tell congress to get on that. And when they don't, blame them. Presidents should be cheerleaders for policies even if they can't pass them. They should be the ones taking their case to the people and rallying people behind him. That's what Trump does which is why the republicans are so do and die over him. But democrats just sit there acting like they're powerless then wonder why their numbers are floundering.
Ability of democrats and republicans to work together
I'm mixed on this one. I don't like bipartisanship for its own sake. Democrats like to do that kind of performative politics and it costs them. And a lot of people like to talk about polarization, but when the moral issues are on the table, we all break into our own camps and contribute to the problem. I dont see that ending any time soon.
Although I will say this, the GOP is WORSE. They've run on obstructionism and sabotaging the left full stop since 2011. It's a huge reason I left. Obama was being reasonable when he was in office and the GOP was intentionally sabotaging him for political points. It was their ticket back. The dems had a chance to crush the GOP when obama won so they sabotaged him and rather than calling him out, they were complacent and tried to compromise to the end. It didn't work for them.
As such, I dont give a flying fudge about polarization and working together. This is mostly a GOP problem. They are the crazed ideologues running on sabotaging democrats in power. And admittedly, democrats won't work with the GOP either. And why would they? They're insane and are sabotaging democracy to force their extreme agenda on people. So the left is forced to not work with the GOP either as doing so would be complicity with their radical anti government agenda.
F the GOP.
Drug Addiction
Honestly, I feel like this one is overstated and I do not view this as one of America's most important problems. However, it has strong bipartisan support. I know a lot of conservatives in like west virginia are on drugs a lot, but so are people in inner cities and the like too. So I guess it impacts everyone.
As far as solutions...again...what's the GOP gonna do? Lock you up if you do them? The GOP loves to do this tough on crime crap but the war on drugs is a failure.
Honestly, drug addiction is primarily a personal issue, and people need to address it on their own.
BUT....if I were gonna go with policy, I'd go with the democrats here. The left wants things like drug addiction centers that treat addiction not as a crime, but as a medical issue. And they want to allow people to be able to shoot up safely and get off of drugs more cleanly, than just stigmatizing the issue and criminalizing those who engage in it.
Republicans think they can control human nature. They think all issues are moral failings that need to be addressed with force. And for all the talk of small government, they support big massive government on moral issues and think the solution is to beat the sin out of people. That's not gonna work. You need a solution that meets people where they are and seeks to improve their lives without ruining them.
Also, let me just say this weird conservative obsession with fentanyl is weird. I never have worried about fentanyl at all. I would assume if you stay away from that stuff, you're probably not going to come in contact with the substance. Not sure why this is this massive moral crisis. Just seems to be this weird fear thing the GOP has.
Gun violence
This is an issue that the country is polarized about. The left sees gun violence as a massive epidemic. The right refuses to because they have this ideological fixation on the second amendment.
I would say this is one issue where I lean more right than left. I'm not overly big on regulating guns. For all the fear of mass shootings, they're not a majority of gun crimes. The majority happen in inner city with basic pistols and involve shootouts and the like between criminals.
I live in an area where this is common. I'm afraid to leave my house, quite frankly. Most people on the left seem more afraid of deranged gunmen coming at them with AR15s though, even though that's a small minority of gun crimes.
I'm not saying that we can't do better. We could push some fixes to make it harder to get guns like mental health and criminal screenings. But I dont see this issue disappearing unless we got rid of the 2nd amendment and I don't think most people want that.
So this is an issue people will complain about but then nothing will really happen on it.
Violent crime
This is the other side of the gun crisis. Both the right and left are wrapped up in their moral crises over crime. The left just fixates on mass shooters while the right looks at the state of the inner cities and how crap they are.
The truth is, though, violent crime is down. It's been down for decades. Why is everyone freaking out now? because it went WAY down with COVID when everything was shut down and now it went back up to normal levels and everyone's freaking out. Especially the right.
Now, despite the numbers, i get it, if you live in a crappy area, it sucks. I live in an area I'm afraid to go outside. I dont blame this on the federal government though. The local governments are the ones that fund police forces, and many of them have more than enough resources (although perhaps in retrospect the defund the police movement was a tactical error on the left). And honestly? You can't stop crime without addressing the root causes. As I learned in criminology classes, the best way to stop crime is if the punishment is swift, certain, and severe. It's never swift, the justice system takes too long, it's not at all certain, with a majority of crimes going unpunished, and obviously we have the 8th amendment so the severity is always going to be limited.
Even more so, tough on crime sentiments dont seem to help much of anything. For all the right talks about deterrence and the like, it just seems like a losing battle to me.
If you really wanna stop crime, you gotta address the root causes. Stuff like poverty, economic desperation, a lack of meaningful alternatives. Low trust in the system and government.
Honestly, the best single policy we could implement to stop crime from happening is probably a UBI. Because it would address a lot of the economic root causes of crime. That isn't going to be a panacea but that would help.
You can talk gun control but I think that a lot of that wouldnt stop crime per se. Criminals will get guns anyway, it's law abiding citizens who won't be able to defend themselves otherwise.Although we can tinker around the edges of gun laws.
The federal budget deficit
Funny how this is only an issue when democrats are in office. The republicans drive up the national debt through irresponsible tax cuts and foreign wars and crap and then when democrats are in office OMFG OUR COUNTRY IS GONNA IMPLODE, THE NATIONAL DEBT, OMFG, BIG SCARY NUMBERS, WE NEED TO CUT SPENDING IMMEDIATELY.
Like really, we got half the country trying to sabotage our country's finances and the other side is at least TRYING to be responsible. I admit Obama and Biden contributed a lot to it in their own right. But they had to. Both faced massive crises that necessitated massive amounts of public spending. Those were justified. But honestly? It's republicans who create this problem. Because they hook people in with tax cuts (aka free money that we don't call free money) and then we get an environment where we have all of these obligations like social security, medicare, and a massive military, but no one wants to fund anything. It's unhealthy but that's why i keep saying we can't really be bipartisan. The GOP is LITERALLY PLAYING DIRTY. They literally sabotage the democrats, and the country, to force a radical agenda on people. And then they use the national debt to try to force spending cuts that hurt normal people while cutting taxes on the rich. Reagan did it, Bush did it, Clinton did it. Hell, the other Bush actually backed off of doing it and lost reelection as a result. he promised low taxes but then had to raise taxes.
Another reason why i think that reaganism contributed to the moral decay of this nation. Like, when I propose stuff like UBI, healthcare, I always try to find ways to pay for them. I don't like having fiscally irresponsible programs we can't afford. But honestly, the GOP got people hooked to taking the easy way out that the american people dont wanna sacrifice even an iota to do the right thing. We are a culture of extremely selfish fricks. And honestly, I know I'm the dude who says it's okay to be selfish, but keep in mind, my self interest is "enlightened"....I support a long term "do the collective thing to benefit the individual" sort of thing. These guys won't even think that far ahead. It's "i want results now F the future". And then they scream about the national debt.
Again, the GOP unleashed this on us. It's a huge reason I despise them.
The state of moral values
The only moral crisis we're facing is the above.
This is an issue that primarily appeals to conservatives. because a majority of conservatives are radical fundamentalist christian nutjobs who are afraid christianity and their specific sub culture is losing influence in the nation at large. So they look at how secular everything these days and think this is hell. Honestly, I feel like these people are insane and should be ignored.
The only moral crisis we're facing is the whole "greed is good, F pulling together to do the right thing" mindset this country is in. yall wouldn't even sit on the couch for the country, don't get out there acting like people these days wont sacrifice just because the sacrifice doesnt look like storming the beaches of normandy. Yall never would've survived the 1940s. Dont keep invoking that crap.
But beyond that, I'm libertarian. I say let people do what they want as long as they dont harm others. Sorry people living their own lives, screwing who they want, getting abortions, and changing their gender offends you so much. Maybe you should mind your own freaking business and keep the church stuff to yourself.
Illegal immigration
Honestly, this is a polarizing one. The right screams about it and it just comes off as...why? I dont think immigration of one of the biggest issues of our time. I dont get the appeal of screaming about slowly moving caravans of women and children coming toward the border and reaching it in like 2 months after starting to talk about it. I dont get the mindset of screaming FENTANYL IS FLOODING ACROSS THE BORDER. yes, we have a drug trade problem, but all of the border enforcement in the world isnt gonna make it better. yall realize we're doing the best we can? Oh, and building a wall ain't gonna do crap. Because tunnels and drug cannons. Yeah. Anyway, I understand illegal border crossings are associated with some shady crap like the drug trade and human trafficking, and we should certainly keep border patrol on that. I say keep because people act like we dont have enough border patrol stuff and that we won't until we police our border as tightly as North Korea or the GDR or some crap.
Also, most immigrants, illegal are not, contribute positively to our country economically. And even if they steal jobs, their consumption fuels more jobs. The problem is jobs suck and you shouldnt have to work so hard just to survive in the first place.
Again, i discussed immigration recently. I have some conservative views and some liberal views here. But I just look at the majority of why conservatives complain about them and are like..yeah this is overblown. Yes, some criminals are involved with the issue. No, that's not the majority of them. yes, we should address the criminal elements. No, a wall won't help. Yes, immigrants should learn english. No, deporting everyone who is brown and speaks a funny language isn't going to make america great again.
Again Im a moderate on the issue, and so is Biden. And I think Biden is about right on the issue. The right is just doing their weird virtue signalling crap in creating a moral crisis out of nothing like on many other issues I mentioned.
The quality of K-12 schools
Admittedly, I have no solid opinion here. I will say that most of the worst public schools are so because we fund stuff locally, meaning rich suburbs can fund well equipped public schools while those in the inner cities end up sucking majorly. Of course, there's a NIMBY issue there that no one wants to address so...
Climate change
Sad that this is so low. it's a major issue. One of the most major issues and we should get on it. And biden did a damned good job with build back better. Meanwhile most republicans just stick their head in the sand.
Racism
The right denies the issue exists, the left is more mixed. I personally wish the left would stop trying to turn this into the big issue of our time. it really isn't. And leaning into wokeness just polarizes and alienates people. I know that crap flies in democratic primaries but in general elections the democrats need to kinda avoid leaning into that.
Condition of roads, bridges, and other infrastructure
Low support for change on both sides here. It's an issue, but most americans dont see it as a major issue.
Honestly, our infrastructure sucks and is crumbling, but I dont think it's AS bad as some make it out to be. Should we invest more into it? Yes. Do we need a full green new deal here? Not really.
Still maybe try to stay clear of this one as it isnt resonating.
Domestic/international terrorism
This is funny. The right sees foreign terrorism as a threat because again, omg brown people. The left sees domestic terrorism as a bigger threat because omg racism.
Honestly, I'm more on the left side in this one. Domestic terrorism is the biggest concern. Still, glad this one is relatively not emphasized by the public and that we've moved on from 2001.
Unemployment
The problem isn't that there's a lack of jobs, there isn't. We just dealt with a so called "worker shortage" aka a "jobs surplus" and rich fricks are calling for raising interest rates to create MORE unemployment. I don't think they should but it seems clear where the economic issues are. It's not the great recession any more, the issue isn't unemployment, it's inflation. Again, remember that our economy can't simultaneously employ everyone and keep inflation in check. We got great numbers on unemployment but inflation is...struggling. So focus our efforts here. Eventually things will change. It's been said this is the best economy in 50 years. SHould go to show how rare this kind of situation is. And it should show the clear limits of capitalism and job creation in providing for people.
Btw, I still think that there are issues. Unemployment is low because in part a lot of people are discouraged and got out of the work force due to the great recession and covid and never went back. People who are chronically unemployed will always have issues getting back into the market. A lot of people at the margins still cant make ends meet with a job or multiple jobs. ANd yeah, I will continue to insist jobs arent the answer.
A discussion of where we are as a country
Honestly? The right lives in their own little world, where they perpetuate fake crises to keep their base in a constant state of panic and dissatisfaction. Things arent bad right now, objectively. There might be some feels there, and I agree things could be better, but honestly, who really has the solutions to make it better?
I mean, statistically we dont have a crime crisis, but people FEEL like we do. And depending on where you live you might be right. What's the solution? For me it's UBI.
We have inflation. It's actually down but people are still reeling from the last two years. Americans need a raise. We need a burgeoning labor movement to make work pay, and a UBI to raise living standards outside of work.
Healthcare, REPUBLICANS WILL NEVER FIX IT. And democrats are kinda failing on the issue. Biden is not the best democrat we could've elected on this one. Bernie or even Harris were much better, but that the public has any confidence in Harris (her healthcare plan was basically medicare extra for all with some changes here and there IIRC).
And beyond that, stop electing republicans. I know biden aint everything we all want but holy crap trump aint gonna do anything. he's gonna make it worse. Idk what people see in this guy. People have this idea that under trump everything was great and everything under biden is crap. IT'S ALL FEELS.
Im not saying there arent problems. I myself aint satisfied either. But i havent been satisfied with the state of the country since like...ever, really. Being a kid in the 90s maybe. But since 9/11, nah. At least now I have a decent idea of what I view the problems to be and the solutions, and I do think my solutions would overlap with these problems somewhat. healthcare is an issue, inflation is an issue. Crime is an issue to some extent. But the solutions are on the left, not the right.
We just need someone who can articulate that without looking like he's about to fall asleep and that he belongs in a nursing home.
Biden is legit NOT a bad president. I know there's a sense of malaise surrounding him. But the left and the right have different visions of what to do about that, and the right has no real solutions. For the most part if you want solutions to the more serious issues on this list, you probably gotta move left.
And that's my pitch to the country.
The country needs to learn that just because guy A aint great doesnt mean guy B is better. I mean, if guy B is really guy R, he's probably worse in every way. But because these guys are driven by fake moral crises and feels, suddenly they think guy R is great.
Idk, I mean, I have my own dissatisfaction with the country, but it's based on actual sound problems with it. Not some right wing media echo chamber making me go nuts like Rammstein's angst music video (which was, btw, about fear about how the media and psychos like trump driving that stuff to push the country into fascism).
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