Group Arguments Food Insecurity the Richest Country

Group Arguments

Food insecurity

The richest country in the world should not have any members of its population who have to worry about food. There is plenty of food available to feed the population and the failure to do so is immoral.

Healthcare costs

Healthcare costs in the United States have grown out of proportion relative to other advanced nations. The average cost of care in the United States is much higher than any other country in the world however the outcomes the system produces are ranked around the thirtieth position. Many U.S. citizens are unable to pay for healthcare and have to visit the emergency room (ER) for even fairly minor issues even after reforms. This cost gets passed on in the entire healthcare system and produces much inefficiency in the system. In 2007, 62.1% of all U.S. bankruptcies were related to medical expenses and 78% of these bankruptcies were filed by people who had medical insurance (ProCon, 2014).

War

The United States is seemingly in a perpetual state of war. It spends about as much on its military than the rest of the world combined. This is sold to the public as "defense" spending but there are very few actual threats to the United States. Thus most of the spending is an offensive and immoral act. Missile defense systems built at a cost of about $200 million have produced failure in tests (William, 2014). This represents wasteful spending as well as being immoral.

Disease with pollution

The United States has been reluctant to implement any meaningful legislation to protect the environment and its natural resources. There have been everything from pipeline spills that poison the water to industrial pollution that poisons air quality.

Food insecurity

The United States is only a great country because it is based on a capitalistic system in which people are responsible for providing for themselves. There are plenty of options for work or for private welfare and the state should not be involved with guaranteeing food.

Healthcare costs

Though the costs associated with healthcare have grown alarmingly, the technology that exists in the U.S. healthcare system is the best in the world. This would not have developed without the free market driving innovation.