Dear Editor:
America is declining at warp speed. What are some of the most important ways in which we, as a nation, are in decline you ask? Here are a few facts that might startle you. For the first time in nearly a quarter century, in the U.S., life expectancy is declining or at least stagnating for significant portions of our population, and we are no longer growing taller according to recent global health surveys and the Harvard School of Public Health. Lenny Bernstein in the Washington Post writes, "The reasons for the United States' lag are well known. It has the highest infant and maternal mortality rates of any of the countries in the study, and the highest obesity rate. It is the only one without universal health insurance coverage and has the "largest share of unmet health-care needs due to financial cost."
Consider data developed by Michael Porter at Harvard Business School. In 2014 the U.S. ranked #16 on the Social Progress Index, but by 2016 we had slipped to 19th place, with particularly mediocre scores in environmental quality (#36), nutrition and basic medical care (#37), and access to basic knowledge (#40). Compare this to Canada which is near the top of the rankings at number two in the SPI. Canada was a little better on environmental quality (#32), quite a bit better on basic medical care (#26), and a whole lot better on access to basic knowledge (#2).
Equally problematic, Trump is asking for a 10 percent increase in military spending when this nation is already militarily overextended globally. According to the National Priorities Project, the U.S. already accounts for 37 percent of world military spending, and our expenditures are roughly equivalent to the combined next seven largest military budgets around the globe.
Donald Trump can't be blamed for the current poor to mediocre social and environmental ratings, but under his leadership this country stands to continue picking up speed at overall decline. His administration's hardened positions on cutting social programs, environmental and regulatory protections and spending while vastly increasing military spending will surely exacerbate and accelerate decline of our nation. How can we possibly address our growing human and environmental needs, crumbling infrastructure, and immobilized and deeply polarized political system under such divisive leadership?
I get it, we need real and significant change in this country, but we are going the wrong way.
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