By Jocelyn Su
The United States of America is the world's most powerful country. It’s proudly referred to as a cultural “melting pot,” has the highest gross domestic product output, and has the strongest national defence.
However, it has one of the most reports of police brutality, highest poverty rates, and corrupt
healthcare systems out of the 37 developed countries categorised by the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Though these problems have always existed in America, the COVID-19 pandemic shined a
spotlight on these issues.
The Power of Fear
When businesses and schools shut down, many Americans were shocked and looked for
something to blame.
Because COVID-19 originated from Wuhan, China, many people quickly criticized the Asian
community.
Since the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic, there has been a sharp rise in Anti-Asian hate crime. Furthermore, President Trump insisted on replacing the term “Coronavirus” with “Chinese Virus”, contributing to the already-spreading xenophobia as it drew attention to China’s role in the pandemic.
This wasn’t the first time fear spread xenophobia. After the 9/11 bombings, many Americans
blamed the Middle Eastern community, and to this day, there are many implicit biases against Muslims.
Others fear immigrants will take their jobs, provoking stereotypes against the Latin community. Trump’s strict immigration agenda was a key reason why he got elected.
The quick xenophobic response by the public in these situations shows how America’s different demographics have been used as scapegoats.
Economy v. Health
The pandemic also brought America’s capitalistic priorities to light.
President Trump suggested opening the economy in late April, and stated in an NPR interview, “Will some people be affected badly? Yes. But we have to get our country open, and we have to get it open soon.” As a response, Betsy Stevenson, an economist, claimed that the general public's health should be America’s main concern. The CDC also warned against opening the country as the virus was still rapidly spreading at the time.
Medical professionals are also concerned. The government failed to provide enough funding, and doctors are risking their lives treating millions of COVID-19 patients without proper personal protective equipment. Opening the economy would not only endanger the general public, but it would add massive stress to medical workers.
Nevertheless, the government’s main priority is the economy. America’s reliance on capitalism emphasises competition and profit. They provided $1,200 stimulus checks to encourage people to continue driving money into the economy. However, after years of expansion, a recession is bound to happen according to the economic cycle; the process was only accelerated by the pandemic.
Many people are worried about America's condition, and some believe the virus could have been contained had it not been for the medical system’s inefficiency and cost.
The Healthcare System
America prides itself on being number 1, but this year, the only thing they’re number 1 in is
COVID-19 cases, surpassing 100,000 deaths on May 27th.
On January 20th, both South Korea and the U.S. discovered their first coronavirus case.
In March, as South Korea was quarantining, testing, and tracking patients’ travel history to
contain the virus, America was just beginning to understand the severity of the situation.
Declaring a national emergency almost two months after America reported its first case, the
Trump administration admitted to not having enough resources to reach its goal of distributing one million testing kits.
On June 3rd, the percentage of Americans that contracted the virus was 30 times higher than that of South Koreans. The Trump administration’s slow response was just one factor contributing to America’s 1.8 million coronavirus cases. The medical system was not only inefficient, but its high prices limited access to those who needed it most.
According to the Census Bureau, approximately 27.5 million Americans (8.5% of the
population) had no healthcare in 2018. Due to the pandemic, 28.5 million people lost their jobs. For those who lost their employer-sponsored insurance, COVID-19 tests (which cost about $50-$200) were their last priorities as many struggled to pay for rent and groceries.
Even those who were able to find and afford testing kits still had to deal with the medical bills that came after. A man from Pennsylvania reported having to pay almost $4,000 after being quarantined when he returned from China.
The American healthcare system is notorious for being expensive, as a large amount of the U.S population either have no insurance or are underinsured. According to the Federal Reserve, 40% of the U.S. population is not able to cover (or easily pay off) a $400 medical emergency.
The amount of people that struggled to pay for testing kits and medical bills during this
pandemic demonstrates the weaknesses of the American healthcare system due to large wealth inequality between the upper and lower classes.
Strength or Weakness?
What makes the U.S. the strongest country in the world simultaneously creates subtle
weaknesses in their system, which are becoming more evident over time.
This diverse country is home to millions of immigrants. They bring new cultures and contribute to the economy, but once fear spreads, people are quick to abandon their appreciation for diversity as they blame people of colour.
They pride themselves with their capitalistic economy as they own approximately 30% of the
world’s wealth. However, they have one of the largest poverty rates for a developed country as large corporations, such as Amazon, hold a majority of the capital.
Lastly, their biggest strength is their military, spending over $700 billion a year for national
defence. However, all those expenditures took away from the pandemic response team, which Trump cut funding for in 2018.
The COVID-19 pandemic did not cause these flaws but brought more attention to them. Rather than ignore these issues and focus solely on the economy, America needs to confront the root of the problem by helping those in need. These issues can only change over time through systematic reform, which is why citizens must raise their voices and vote.
Only then will America truly be great.
Sources
Abrams, Abigail. “America's Health System Will Likely Make Coronavirus Worse.” Time,
Time, 4 Mar. 2020, time.com/5794672/health-insurance-deductibles-coronavirus/.
Carlos, Juan. “All the World's Wealth in One Visual.” HowMuch,
howmuch.net/articles/distribution-worlds-wealth-2019.
“Coronavirus Timeline.” ABC News, ABC News Network, abcnews.go.com/Health/timeline-
coronavirus-started/story?id=69435165.
“Coronavirus: White House Concedes US Lacks Enough Test Kits.” BBC News, BBC, 6 Mar.
2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51761435.
Tappe, Anneken. “America's Unemployment Rate Could Hit 20%. But There's Light at the End
of the Tunnel.” CNN, Cable News Network, 3 June 2020,
www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/economy/may-jobs-report-preview/index.html.
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