A Companion Resource to The New Americans--a Public Television Series; Prepared for the NIF network by the Kettering Foundation

The New Challenges of American Immigration: What Should We Do?

National Issues Forums and the Kettering Foundation

National Issues Forums Institute

"Nearly everybody will, at some point, get sick and need the help of health-care professionals. Finding the resources to cover these public programs is an ever-increasing challenge at a time when our national debt is at an all-time high. Ultimately, all Americans―policymakers as well as citizens―will have to face painful decisions about reducing the cost. This may mean fewer choices in health care for the tens of millions of people enrolled in these programs. The choices are difficult; the stakes, enormous. The 16-page guide presents three options for deliberation: Do What It Takes to Maintain Our Commitment Keeping the programs solvent may mean higher taxes for workers and companies, or raising the age of eligibility for Medicare. It could mean asking Medicaid patients to share the cost of their coverage. We need to do what is necessary to continue the commitment even if that costs everyone more. But, raising taxes to pay for both programs may cost them the broad-based support they now enjoy. Making people wait longer to collect Medicare or forcing the poor to pay part of their health care may cause people to delay getting help, resulting in higher costs later on. Reduce Health-Care Costs Throughout the System It is critical to put Medicare and Medicaid on a better financial footing. We need to pay for fewer lab tests people get and reduce money spent on end-of-life care. The U.S. government should negotiate for lower drug costs as other countries do. But, fewer tests may mean more people will die from undiagnosed illnesses. Less end-of-life intervention may mean that more people will die sooner than they would otherwise need to. And lowering the profits of drug companies will mean less money for research into better drugs that benefit everyone. Get Serious about Prevention One reason Medicare and Medicaid are headed for a crisis is because so many Americans have unhealthy lifestyles that cause them to develop preventable illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. We should stop expecting others to pay for the consequences of our bad choices. Government incentives should reward those who weigh less, eat right, and exercise more. But, an emphasis on prevention and requiring that people adopt healthier lifestyles would invite unfair scrutiny of their behavior and would increase government intrusion into people’s lives. (2017-03-29)

Medicare and Medicaid: How Can We Afford Them?

Business & Money

Casey, Maura

Economics

America is slowly coming out of a long recession. Unemployment, after peaking at 10 percent in 2009, has fallen below 8 percent; more new homes are being built, although just gradually. Despite the heavy blow we've taken in the last few years, the US economy is very large and still growing... We have significant resources, but they are finite. What direction should we take? This issue guide offers three possible options to consider: Keep Tightening Our Belt Though painful, the sequester (mandatory across-the-board budget cuts) showed that we can get by with less. We should continue cutting gradually to bring down the deficits, shrink the national debt, and let the private sector drive the recovery. Invest for the Future We are making progress on the deficit. We need to make some adjustments to entitlements, but now is not the time to slash programs; it may result in hobbling the recovery. Instead, we should make strategic expenditures and grow the economy, which in turn will shrink the deficit. Tame the Monsters The steady growth of defense, Social Security, and Medicare/Medicaid are the main drivers consuming the federal budget...Social Security and Medicare, in turn, should be need-based and self-sustaining. We should get away from the whole concept of ""entitlement,"" which is bankrupting those programs. We also should reform and simplify the tax code.

America's Future: What Should Our Budget Priorities Be?

Wharton, Tony

Accounting

One in five Americans will have mental health problems in any given year. Unaddressed mental illness hurts individuals and their families and results in lost productivity. In rare cases, it can result in violence.This issue guide presents a framework that asks: How can we reduce the impact of mental illness in America?The issue guide presents three options for consideration:Put safety firstThis option holds that more preventive action is necessary to deal with mentally ill individuals who are potentially dangerous to themselves or others. We should identify those who need help and intervene where necessary to prevent them from harming themselves and others. These individuals should be sought out and their needs addressed.Ensure mental health services are available to all who need themThis option holds that people should be encouraged to take control over their own mental health and be provided the tools to do so. We should make sure that everyone who wishes can get the needed help.Let people plot their own courseThis option holds that we should not rely on so many medical approaches. We should reduce our dependence on drugs and allow people the freedom to plot their own course to healthy lives. In many cases, simple changes to lifestyle can improve mental health. (2017-03-29)

Mental Illness in America: How Do We Address a Growing Problem?

Health, Fitness & Dieting

MENZISE, JEFF

Mental Health

Americans depend on easy access to energy. Most of us take it for granted that we will be able to light up a room with the flick of a switch, adjust the temperature of our homes at will, and climb into our cars every morning to go to work, often at distant sites. We use more energy than any other country. Americans make up only 4.5 percent of the world’s population, yet we consume about 20 percent of the world’s energy production. Collectively, we drive more, heat more, air condition more, and plug in more electronic devices than anyone else. We use 22 percent of the oil consumed in the world each day.Worldwide energy use is on the upswing as well, and is projected to keep increasing, as rapidly developing countries, such as China, India, and Brazil, become bigger players in the worldwide market for energy supplies, especially oil. And―sooner or later―the world’s available supply of oil will run out. This 13-page issue guide presents three options for deliberation: Produce the Energy We Need to Maintain Our Way of Life This option holds that we must produce more of the energy we need, while making sure that as much imported energy as possible comes from stable, friendly countries, such as Canada. The result would be to lessen foreign entanglements, cut the nation’s trade deficit, and make the dollar stronger in world markets, this option says. Put More Renewables and Clean Energy Sources into the Mix This option says that we need to find and use more sources of renewable energy. And, because we will inevitably have to move to renewables at some point, we should start down that path now. It will take time, but it will be worth it in the long run. Find Ways to Use Less Energy According to this option, there is no long-term future in this voracious use of energy produced by fossil fuels. They will, eventually, run out and, in the meantime, we continue to do great damage to the air, water, and earth that sustain us. While renewable, nonpolluting sources of energy may well be the answer to our problems, realistically we cannot expect them soon. (2017-04-03)

America's Energy Future: How Can We Take Charge?

Engineering & Transportation

Mead, Andy

Engineering

"For many Americans, the recovery from the 2007 recession, a recovery that officially began in 2009, feels very remote, or nonexistent. Even as the stock market surges and millions of jobs have been created, they see a very different picture. Many Americans still believe in the basic notion that anyone who works hard should be able to support a family and get ahead. What can we do to make that happen? This issue guide presents three options for deliberation: Create New Opportunities We should make it easier for people to start new enterprises that will improve their circumstances. Whether it’s starting a house painting business on the side or opening a restaurant, when individuals start new firms, it helps spur economic growth. More skilled tradespeople are needed, for example, as construction bounces back. Half of all private-sector jobs in the US are at small businesses, and in recent years small businesses have supplied two-thirds of all new jobs. Strengthen the Safety Net We should secure and expand safeguards so that changes in the economy don’t push people into poverty or leave families with children homeless or hungry. In the last decade, millions of people found themselves unemployed or underemployed with few or no benefits, sometimes indefinitely. Fewer people work with one company for decades, employee benefits have shrunk, technology and globalization have eliminated jobs, and more people are employed in freelance work. We need to make sure people will not face catastrophic losses as they adapt to these changes. To do this, we should strengthen the unemployment insurance program, protect workers’ retirement, and make benefits more portable. Reduce Inequality We should shrink the income gap. Today, the richest 10 percent of the country’s population earn more than half of its total income. It is not right that CEOs make hundreds of times more than their employees, even as their companies cut workers’ hours to avoid paying overtime and offering benefits. Some inequality helps drive people to succeed and become wealthier, but if people can’t move into or stay in the middle class, or if the wealthy manipulate the system to their benefit, then we all lose. To reduce the large gaps between the very rich and the rest of society, schools should be funded more equally, we should do more to control college costs, and people who don’t go to college should be able to get decent-paying jobs that allow them to stay in the middle class.

Making Ends Meet: How Should We Spread Prosperity and Improve Opportunity (National Issues Forums)

Youth and Opportunity: What Should We Do for Future Generations to Thrive?

Glover, Malcolm Elliott

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