Fixing the American System

It seems like 2020 is full of problems. In the US we tend to love bad policies and that’s our problem (Word to A$AP Rocky). Earlier this month, I explained the shortcomings of our current system and advocated for meaningful change. I didn’t have all the answers then, and I don’t have all the answers now, but I do have some solid starting points.

We have simple solutions that are staring us in the face, and yet, this country appears to like to endure suffering. Why people struggle to put these together is beyond me. Could it be willful ignorance or something else? I have several theories, but that’s another day, another article. As we look ahead to the back half of the year, there’s little sign of normalcy. While many are hoping to return to the way things were, now could be the perfect time to create a new normal — one that creates a better society for everyone involved. To achieve this, we need to address many societal norms and inequalities, and I’ve got some ideas.

Healthcare:

All along the campaign trail, all of the presidential candidates were asked about their healthcare plans and where they stand. With millions being laid off, how are they going to be able to pay their medical bills? At this point, access to quality healthcare should be a right, not based on who can and cannot afford it.

Housing:

Universal housing should be afforded to everyone. How are we the greatest country with people living on the street? In 2018, USA Today released an article advising there were 1.5 million vacant homes in the US and almost 600,000 homeless people. If you add the now vacant office space spaces and malls to the equation, we have more than enough to go around. Include the opportunity for fair housing and rent stabilization to stop gentrification and predatory lending so that everyone has a fair shot at an opportunity to have a home.

Equal Pay/Universal Basic Income:

Once housing and healthcare are affordable, provide a way for livable wages to exist, and it has to make sense. It’s useless to raise the minimum wage if price hikes on food, housing, and healthcare follow. Giving poor families the same opportunities as the middle and rich classes could eliminate these issues. How? That means the wealthy must pay their fair share. Trickle-down economics is a farce. If it wasn’t, it would have worked by now. 

Education:

So how do you get a decent job to get a decent house and afford quality food and healthcare? You must be educated and know how to make it work. What and how we teach our students from pre-k to college provides the foundation for the progression of society. We have the opportunity right now, in 2020, to change this. What would that look like?

I’m glad you asked!

1. Make education free. This includes wiping out student loan debt. America has money. They dropped $6 Trillion between January and March on a senseless attack on Iran and a Wall Street bailout…TWICE!

2. Adopt the 4x4 Block schedule. This prevents teachers, students, and parents from having to process seven subjects all school year. Instead, they would focus and master their courses at hand. If you do not think this is possible, ask yourself why being a full-time student in college is only four classes a semester? 

3. Implement learning core classes now for pre-k to grade 5. This includes your math, reading, science, language arts, and social studies. For grades 6-8, begin to develop them for the society we live in. This includes understanding financial literacy, basic life skills, understanding government, and STEM advancements in today’s society. 

4. Now here comes the hard part: allow the opportunity for students to choose their paths between vocational school and attending a university. Look at what jobs no longer exist because of the pandemic. Look at what is now deemed essential. We should be building a workforce that is prepared to take on another pandemic. Some jobs may require more school than others such as doctors — and that’s fine. 

This may appear to be too radical, but look at what has happened since March. Is it really too radical? Is the idea of a complete overhaul of the system really a bad thing? We can’t possibly change one without the other. Everything has to work together. We never thought we would be able to do so much from the palm of our hands, but we can pay bills, run businesses, call family members, and film movies. Is it really impossible? Or, Is it that we just don’t want to because that would mean, for the first time, the idea of truly being equal is possible and this country is still hell-bent having certain groups being superior over others?