Introduction
In the State of the Union Address 2023, President Biden raised many questions about public policies in various directions. In particular, these problems concern unemployment, inflation, healthcare, education, prevention of violence, and other areas. Although the President proposed options for solving problems in these areas, some may seem doubtful and not bring the expected results. Therefore, this paper will analyze public issues in health, education, and violence prevention, targeted for intervention by the President and propose solutions for them.
Analyzing Presidential Interventions in Health, Education, and Violence Prevention
Access to Healthcare
One of the problems addressed by the President is the availability of medical services and medicines. The President says that today about 16 million Americans have health insurance and can qualify for discounted drugs (The White House, 2023). This can make medicine more accessible and reduce health inequality. Moreover, the President says that the state of emergency caused by Covid will soon be terminated. Although the incidence of Coronavirus is declining, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023), this does not reduce the problem of inequality in healthcare services.
People without health insurance must pay for Covid tests and vaccinations themselves. In many states, inequality is associated with vaccination distribution and coverage (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). Statistical data is essential to problem assessment (Kraft & Furlong, 2021). Therefore, the solutions proposed by the President to make medicine more accessible can have a positive effect. However, implementing these programs takes time, and there is an urgent need to address existing health challenges.
Access to Guns
In addition, the President talks about the need for programs to regulate gun violence. This problem has become even more urgent after the recent case of beating to death of Tyre Nichols by the police. This problem is obvious and requires an urgent search for solutions (Kraft & Furlong, 2021). Moreover, there is a need for government intervention since law enforcement agencies are subject to their sphere of influence. According to Ward (2022), a community violence intervention program can be beneficial but needs more time and funding. Moreover, this issue highlights even more severe issues related to racial prejudice on the part of the police.
Access to Education
Another issue targeted by the President is the availability of education. The President says that mere schooling is insufficient to provide employment opportunities and decent pay (The White House, 2023). Therefore, the government should finance education for children from 2 to 4 years old and increase the number of grants and scholarships for higher education. According to the state budget for 2023, the government has allocated $36.5 billion to provide high-quality education for students (Office of Management and Budget, 2023). While this amount can provide a good baseline, it is still not enough to provide affordable education for all students, which could exacerbate educational disparities.
In addition, the President announced a plan to reduce students’ debts, according to which the government forgives student loans of up to $20,000 to many citizens (The White House, 2023). However, this policy could harm the US economy if not adequately controlled. In general, the President’s proposals in education can be helpful; however, it is necessary to look for alternative ways to finance educational programs, for example, by attracting private investors. That will help increase the availability of education and reduce the need for government funding in this area.
Conclusion
Thus, issues targeted by the President in The State of the Union Address are of public concern and require government intervention. However, the proposed solutions take a long time to implement and do not always correspond to government priorities. Therefore, it is necessary to develop alternative solutions that will primarily meet the expectations of the public and will be able to address existing public issues more effectively.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). COVID data tracker. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web.
Kraft, M. E., & Furlong, S. R. (2021). Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives. CQ Press
The White House. (2023). President Biden’s State of the Union Address. The White House. Web.
Office of Management and Budget. (2023). Budget of the U.S. Government: Fiscal year 2023 [PDF document]. Web.
Ward, M. (2022). Inside the White House gun violence initiative they say is actually working. Politico. Web.