Free «There Are Now Two Americas» Essay Sample

America today is far from what the Founding Fathers dreamt of. They envisaged America as a country with equitable distribution of resources; America where everyone would be treated equally before the law. Unfortunately, this was just a dream. Contemporary America is divided between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. The United States represents a stratified society, where the Natives are treated separately from the immigrants and other populations (Dadush, 2012). There is poverty in America not because it does not have a strong economy in the world, but because of the so-called liberal politics. There is the high-end America, a preserve of the wealthy and the privileged, and there is the low-end America, where most of the citizens live. Those inequalities are typical of any society, but such disparities should at least be narrowed.

The rich and the mighty in America control a significant majority of not-so-rich Americans (Dadush, 2012). There are biases in school admissions. For instance, there is still the white-only admission into colleges. Recently, a story appeared in the mainstream and social media revealing that a medical school imposed quota admission for medical students (Schwebel, 2003). Of course, the whites were given a priority. What about the Black Americans? What are the features that make them worse? The loan rates are different; there is a disparity in job opportunities. In particular, New Orleans’ poverty rates are in the spotlight. There are the working lower class Americans who do not own a car. They cannot be evacuated even to families or hotels beyond the Katrina target.

Families suffer, living from hand to mouth, not having enough to meet their every day bills. In contrast, there is “the other America” where citizens have more than they need. Senator Jon Edwards, former presidential nominee, rightly observed that there is gross inequality in America. Big insurance companies give priority to the rich for the simple reason that they have financial security and are creditworthy. What about the other Americans who make up most of the population?

The Patient’s Bill of Rights sought to see America where every citizen would be treated equally. The American dream will remain elusive until the gap between the rich and the poor is bridged. As long as most Americans still struggle to make ends meet, America will remain a divided nation. As it is now, America has two health care systems. The rich can buy the best health care systems while the poor are rationed out by drug and insurance companies. There are different public school systems; one is for the rich and affluent in society and the other is for the poor Americans (Schwebel, 2003).

The quality of education should not be dictated by where a child lives or their family backgrounds. There can be one single school system catering for all American children in line with the dream of the Founding Fathers. America should have one economic system. This will foster unity and help remove the disconnect that has been witnessed in America. What is the way forward? There is need for the U.S. government to create good-paying jobs for everyone (Dadush, 2012).

The healthcare system should be improved. There should be tax cuts for companies to which American citizens outsource their jobs. It is recommended that there be tax breaks for companies that keep jobs for Americans. A further tax cut for 98% of Americans will help improve the economy and bridge the gap between the rich and the poor (Merino, 2011). Then, America that the Founding Fathers had envisaged will exist. It will be America that not only boosts its democracy and strong economy, but it will be the country that creates and supports an all-equitable economic system.