Downsides of the American Dream by

Differences of income in the US

selmaslimi06 — 2023-03-17 07:52:21 UTC

Important facts

2023-03-17 07:52:22 UTC

1. No universal healthcare
2. No free healthcare
3. Most people have health insurance in order to prevent being indebted to the hospital –> regular payments to a health insurance company
4. You usually need an appointment to get medical care –> you might need to wait several weeks for simple routine check ups
5. In many cities, healthcare prices vary widely fortgesetzt same service

Statistics

2023-03-17 08:02:39 UTC

16% of the US population lack insurance coverage

In 2020 the leading cause of death in the US was a heart disease, causing 168 deaths per 100.000 people

Over 40% of American adults have medical debt

Amongst 11 high-income countries, the US healthcare system ranks last

alinak91 — 2023-03-17 08:03:30 UTC

113 Mass shootings (March 15 2023)
Reached the number 100 by the first week of march

Definition

selmaslimi06 — 2023-03-17 08:04:23 UTC

- refers to the unequal distribution of wealth among different individuals
- differenece in the amount of wealth held by tye ruchest and poorest members of society
- can lead to economic inequality, limited opportunities for the poor, social unrest and other negative consequences

Opinions on „socialized medicine“

2023-03-17 08:08:41 UTC

https://youtu.be/8JprHUz35wM

2023-03-17 08:09:53 UTC

2023-03-17 08:13:41 UTC

Elementary school–>middle school–>high school

–>after high school it’s generally desired to get into college/university

–>there are rankings of colleges/universities
•community colleges(high acceptance rates)
•very reputable colleges/universities e.x: Harvard University (low acceptance rates & very popular)

2023-03-17 08:14:03 UTC

Racial division in the health care system

2023-03-17 08:14:22 UTC

On average, black Americans experience worse access to care, lower quality of care, and poorer health outcomes
-> black Americans are more likely to die earlier

In 2012 the rate of death before the age of 75 from different conditions was twice as high among black Americans than white Americans

Inequity in preventable deaths due to the large disparities in access to affordable healthcare

2023-03-17 08:14:51 UTC

Guns

alinak91 — 2023-03-17 08:15:55 UTC

- 120 guns for 100 Americans
- 44% of US adults live in a household with a gun
- 1/3 of US adults believe there would be less crime if more people owned guns
- 66% favored stricter gun laws to reduce the number of gun-related deaths
- gun suicide rate increased 10% while non-gun suicide decreased (2019-2021)

Racial/ethnic discrimination

maniar2 — 2023-03-17 08:25:31 UTC

-Large gaps between whites and blacks in their general beliefs about discrimination in the US.
-Black Americans: exposed to institutional and interpersonal racial discrimination
-81% of Asian Americans say that violence against them has increased especially during covid.
-Hispanics with darker skin are more likely to experience racism than hispanics with lighter skins.

police brutality

leonietkg — 2023-03-17 08:26:01 UTC

Racism in general and police brutality in America have been longstanding issues in America society
police brutality is usually applied in the context of causing physical harm to a person
It may also involve psychological harm through the use of intimidation tactics >often violate human rights
The Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum after the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Freddie Gray, who were all unarmed black men killed by police officers
Police brutality against people of color, particularly black people, is well documented
1000 people get killed every year
the chance to get killed as an African American is 3-5 times higher -> most African American, men, 15-35
No justice for the people and their family (self defense)
A lot of demonstrations against police-> brutality escalation

maniar2 — 2023-03-17 08:26:12 UTC

German vs US healthcare system

2023-03-17 08:26:17 UTC

Germany
- public healthcare system covers 90% of the population
- universal healthcare that guarantees coverage to all residents
- German healthcare system is overseen by the government
- healthcare costs are generally lower
- German patients have the right to choose their doctors and specialists

USA
- public healthcare system only covers about 35% of the population
- healthcare access is determined by one‘s ability to pay
- US healthcare system is regulated by private insurance companies
- healthcare costs are among the highest of the world
- insurance plans often limit the doctors that patients can see

Why does the wealth gap exist?

selmaslimi06 — 2023-03-17 08:26:31 UTC

- money has a certain value
—-> if everybody would earn a good wage money would lose it’s value
- people who are at the edge of life have to get money one way or another
—-> people do everything to get some money (low paying jobs or even criminal activities)
—-> rich people profit of people who don’t cost much money for them to do the work
- Rich people get richer because of the work gets done for a lower price and poor people get poorer because they earn very little money while everything gets more expensive(inflation)

systemic racism

leonietkg — 2023-03-17 08:26:39 UTC

definition of racism:

“racism is the idea that there is a direct correspondence between a group's values, behavior and attitudes, and it’s physical features” - Adam Kuper

 A prejudice or discrimination by an individual, community or institution against members of a specific racial or ethnic group

definition of systemic racism:

Racism being internalized into the system of society

-> for example:
politics, economy, education, laws, social institutions, etc.

The range of systemic racism:

-> wealth, length of captivity, representation, education, health, etc. ..

The cause of racism:

-> slavery & redlining

hate crimes

leonietkg — 2023-03-17 08:26:57 UTC

- prejudice-motivated crime
-perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership of a certain social group or racial demographic

Same sex marriage

maniar2 — 2023-03-17 08:30:04 UTC

legalized nationwide: June 26th 2015 yet 31 states banned same sex marriages or relationships.

Gun control

alinak91 — 2023-03-17 08:32:05 UTC

- several barriers to buying a gun but there are many loopholes in the current laws
- some people are prohibited from buying a gun (under 18 for rifles and shotguns, and under 21 for other)
–> automatic weapons are illegal for civil use
Semiautomatic & non-automatic weapons are legal
-before a gun can be bought there will be a background check by the FBI

petersen17 — 2023-03-17 08:33:30 UTC

Homeless rates

melissa1088 — 2023-03-17 08:33:40 UTC

-2022 - 582.462 comapred to 2020 580.462 more
-2019- New Mexico highest increase highest number of homless
California- highest increase of homeless people living there
-Rate increased each year since 2014- major American cities
-Approximately 65 % sheltered in provided housing - 35 % unsheltered
-60% male -40% women
-40 Million people live below the poverty line
-15 million children under the age of 18 are poor
-Worker with a family needs to earn 12,73 dollar per hour to reach poverty line
- 30% experience cronic patterns of homelessness

LGBTQ🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

maniar2 — 2023-03-17 08:34:14 UTC

-LGBTQ members face discrimination in their personal lives, workplace, public and when they need access to health care
-More than 1 in 3 LGBTQ Americans face discrimination including more than 3 out of 5 trans Americans
-Younger generations face more discrimination than older generations

American Nightmare?

petersen17 — 2023-03-17 08:35:01 UTC

Why is healthcare so expensive?

2023-03-17 08:35:38 UTC

1. high administrative costs -> multiple insurance providers and lack of centralised coordination

2. prescription drug prices -> pharmacies are able to charge higher prices for prescription drugs

3. medical technology and innovation -> the US is a global leader in medical technology, which comes with high research and development costs

4. lack of price transparency-> difficult for costumers to shop around for the best deals, they’re forced to accept the prices

5. aging population -> increased demand for healthcare services and higher costs

selmaslimi06 — 2023-03-17 08:36:31 UTC

- The man on the boat symbolizes the top 1% of the US
- He is fishing and getting almost all the fishes in the ocean
—> the fish symbolizes money/income
- The people on the beach/coast symbolze the rest of the population of the US
—> they try to get some fish but barely get any

Definition

2023-03-17 08:38:15 UTC

‘’the organised provision of medical care to individuals or a community’’

Causes

melissa1088 — 2023-03-17 08:39:14 UTC

- lack of available amd affordbale hosuing
-mental illness
- substance use
-deininstitiution - porceeds of replacing long stay psychatric hospitals
-lack of needed ressources like a roof above their head amd food
-unemployment
- crime rate: hard to find emplyment

Money

2023-03-17 08:40:51 UTC

•the most expensive part of the american education system are colleges and universities
–>average cost(public college &living on campus):
25.000$ per year; a Bachelor degree takes 4 years=100.000$

~Student debt~
=> most students cannot afford college/university tuitions, thus finacing it is a big topic for many families
–> ways to pay tuitions:
•scholarship’s (hard to get)
•parents pay it for you
•loans(method for most≈43,5 million borrowers)
–>get into debt –>hope for a good job after graduating to pay it off(only 22% of adults report that they have payed off their sutdent loan)
•average debt: 40.000$
(Source: education data initiative;last updated February 2023)

Places

melissa1088 — 2023-03-17 08:41:56 UTC

- unsheltered live on the street or abandoned places
- saftey: not protected from the rain, storms snd earthquake

Loopholes

alinak91 — 2023-03-17 08:43:14 UTC

-privat sales (friends or family) —> no background check
-gun shows —> meet with privat seller
-internet
-big problem is the system of background checks
—> three days are the max. for the government to extend a check, if overstepped the buyer can purchase the gun without problem

Example for a failed background check:
Dylann Roof killed nine people at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015

Student debt nightmare

2023-03-17 08:44:47 UTC

Many students hope get a good job after attending university/college but in reality they find it difficult to actually archieve and many even end up in poverty.
People who have a poor social background are at a greater disadvantage than those who come from wealthy families. That is the reason why many do not even try or consider going to a college/university.

The states with the highest Homeless rate

melissa1088 — 2023-03-18 08:47:36 UTC

- Washington D.C 65,8%
- California 43,7%
- Vermont 43,1 %
-Oregon 42,3%
-Hawaii 41,4 %
-New York 37,4%
-Maine 32,1%
-Alaska 31,7%

The States with the most poverty

melissa1088 — 2023-03-18 08:54:27 UTC

- Mississippi 18,7%
- Louisiana 17,8%
- New Mexico 16,8%
- West Virginia 15,8%
- Arkansas 15,2%
-Alabama 14,9%
- Kentucky 14,9%
- Oklahoma 14,3%
- Georgia 14%
- South Carolina 13,8%

melissa1088 — 2023-03-18 08:55:44 UTC

Historical changes in poverty

melissa1088 — 2023-03-18 09:21:55 UTC

- Late 1950s -> poverty rate 22%
- 1973-> poverty rate low 11,1%
- rising high in 1983, 1993 and 2011
-> nearly 15%
- the all Time lowest in 2019 of 10,5%
- the Americans in poverty in 2014 is the most ever recorded number of 46,7 million

Economic Impact of the gun industry

alinak91 — 2023-03-19 20:51:00 UTC

- total impact increased from $19,1 billion to $63,5 billion (2008- 2019)
—> 232-percent increase
- total number of full-time equivalent jobs rose from 166,000 to 342,330
—> 106-percent increase
- the industry paid nearly $7 billion in buisness taxes

- increased school security costs more than $3 billion
- gun violence harms local economies by slowing buisness development and decreasing housing prices

Why do shootings occur?

alinak91 — 2023-03-19 20:56:46 UTC

1. Want to go back at those who have hurt them.
2. Other kids pick on them, make fun of them, or bully them.
3. They don't value life.
4. They have been victims of physical abuse at home.

Guns and children/teens

alinak91 — 2023-03-19 21:06:59 UTC

- Guns are the leading cause of death among American children and teens
—> each day 12 children die from gun violence (32 shot & injured)
- Since (Columbine) 1999, more than 338,000 students experienced gun violence at school
- Estimated 4,6 mil. children live in a household where at least 1 gun is loaded & unlocked
- 93% of school shooters plan their attack in advance

leonietkg — 2023-03-23 21:19:38 UTC

People killed by police

leonietkg — 2023-03-23 21:58:21 UTC