Our standards have eroded. For instance, with regard to health, the United States is one of the most obese and overweight nations on earth. This costs roughly $200 billion annually in insurance charges and contributes to increased premiums, work absences and declining heath.
Let’s look at family. Out-of-wedlock birth rates have mushroomed. From 1965 to 1990, rates have risen from 3% to 18% for white children and from 24% to 64% for Black children, according to The Brookings Institute.
From 1990 to 2016, the out-of-wedlock birth rates went from 15% to 28% for white children, from 34% to 52% for Hispanic children and from 63% to 69% for Black children, according to childtrends.org. Single-mother families are more likely to be affected by poverty than other families.
Here is a review of education. Academic achievement, particularly in math, has stagnated. The Program for International Student Assessment is a science, math and reading comprehension test administered every three years since 2000 to 15-year-old students.
In 2022, 700,000 students from 81 countries participated. Despite spending the most per student (including higher education) of any nation in the developed world, U.S.
students ranked 28th overall in math among the 30-something participating Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. It was the lowest U.S.
math score to date. And now let’s discuss illegal drug use. Since 1999 deaths from drug overdoses have risen enormously from fewer than.