Discussion points -
In the past 10 years anti-depressant prescriptions have increase 3000%. Is this helping or hurting?
In the past 5 years alone, violent crime is at an all time high. Increasing as much as 28% in one year alone in some cities.
Teen suicide: Why?
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The divisive politics, Americans literally hating other Americans and believing they are worse than terrorist.. the cause of all problems in America. What is this mindset doing to the mentally ill?
It's not your politics that is setting Americans against each other. It's the "dog eat dog" nature of your economy. Republicans believe that giving money, health care, and "free shit" to poor people, destroys the incentive to work, and encourages sloth and freeloading.
When Ronald Reagan was elected, a poor child had a 20% chance of getting a good education and working his/her way out of poverty. Today's child has less than a 2% chance of making it happen. Your society has stratified according to race, education and zipcode. Where you are born, and how wealthy your parents are, will determine your chances of success - not your ability or your work ethic.
Since the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were passed, which on paper, ended racial discrimination in housing, employment, and education, we have seen the "re-segregation" of America. Red-lining has keep neighbourhoods from integrating. Charter and Religious schools have systematically re-segregated the schools. I have had American parents tell me that they send their children to religious schools to keep them from "mixing" with black kids.
Education is the great divider, and inner city students have less funding due to the lower tax bases. Buildings are crumbling, teachers pay is so bad it attracts few talented teachers, and there aren't enough text books or computers for all students. There are fewer athletic programs and other extra-curriccular activities leading to university scholarships in inner city schools. Graduation rates are low and the number of students who go on to post-secondary education is even lower.
Poverty and lack of opportunity is driving your crime rates, and poverty is rising in the USA as the government funnels more and more money to the wealthy via tax cuts, and wages which have stagnated for 40 years.
In all of the other First World Democracies, we have "cradle to the grave social programs, and we take care of the elderly. Canadian seniors have a guaranteed income of just over $1700 per month. Low income parents receive a "child tax benefit" of up to $500 per month per child. Our Employment Insurance pays 55% of income for up to 39 weeks after your employment ends, and has education programs, income supports and training for new businesses built in so that you can go back to school to upgrade your skills and receive benefits while learning.
Canada didn't have the same level of worker displacement or unemployment as the Rust Belt in the USA when our Big 3 Auto plants all packed up and went to Mexico. We retrained the workers, for jobs in the 21st Century, and Oshawa, where nearly everyone living there either worked for GM or was supplying GM didn't go through anything like what happened in Detroit after the jobs left.
The workers, 'they always assumed you were going to be OK, because General Motors was never going away'
financialpost.com
The Canadian government provides the education, infrastructure, and income supports to help its citizens succeed. The USA hobbles low income workers and their families and refuses to give them a hand up, believing that if they do, they're lose their desire to work. But giving money to rich people helps create jobs. Both of these basic beliefs are utterly false.
It simply increases poverty, desperation, crime and violence.