What do you believe is the most important problem regarding social inequality?

Several things you can talk about here, namely:

Gender inequality
Racial and ethnic inequality
Age inequality
Inequalities in health

Which one are you interested in discussing?


I would say poverty.

Normally, studying research or a poll would be regarded as the most reliable way of discovering what America’s biggest and most important social issues are. There are no lack of surveys undertaken that examine the concerns of American citizens. These are valid lines of enquiry and there is nothing wrong with taking their findings into consideration. However, the popularity and widespread use of the internet provides a unique insight into the issues that Americans are particularly interested in. Google has released its United States 2012 search trends. This is based on the searches that people typed into Google this year. The webpage explains that, “We used data from multiple sources, including Google Trends and internal data tools. We filtered out spam and repeat queries to build lists that best reflect the spirit of 2012”. Eight out of the top ten searches that related to the election show the social issues that matter most to Americans. These will be examined below.

Abortion and gay marriage are the first two issues on our list. The abortion debate has been fractious in the United States but seems to be gaining support. Likewise, gay marriage is an issue that is becoming more and more important to everyday Americans. It is interesting to consider that election analysts believe President Obama’s stance on these issues helped him to win more of the female vote than Mitt Romney in the 2012 Presidential election. Simon Tisdall observed in The Guardian that, “The zeitgeist was all Obama's. Liberal causes triumphed in several states that held separate votes on single issues. Maryland and Maine became the first states to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote. Colorado and Washington legalized some marijuana use.”

The third issue is immigration. The high level of unemployment in America has caused a certain level of resentment among some Americans who feel that illegal immigrants are taking their jobs. This argument ignores the fact that many illegal immigrants do jobs that American citizens don’t want to do. These jobs involve cleaning and sanitation. These workers also receive very low pay. The issue of immigration was brought into focus when President Obama allowed some illegal immigrants remain in the U.S. without the fear of deportation.

Fourth, high gas prices. This is an issue which is biting citizens hard because of the high level of unemployment. Discoveries of massive shale oil deposits (with production of 15 million barrels a day by 2020) are getting people excited because they now feel that energy independence may finally be in sight. It is certainly true that America can become a net exporter of oil by 2030, but the global nature of the oil market means that oil prices will not necessarily be lower than they are today. However, the demand of consumers for more gas is countered by the eighth issue on our list, which is the environment. The oil industry has been disappointed that President Obama has introduced various environmental regulations that restrict the activity of oil companies and prevent them from drilling in some places altogether. Obama’s suspension of the Keystone Energy pipeline from Canada is an example.

The fifth social issue that most concerns Americans is social security. Given the high unemployment level it is no wonder that this is a topic people are interested in. But it is also a popular search topic because of the fiscal cliff and the ramifications of America’s astronomical level of debt. In order to bring this debt into control cuts to the budget will need to be made. Welfare is one area the Government is looking closely at. Sixth, national debt. This has reached crisis level in 2012 and Congress was barely able to avoid the fiscal cliff. A temporary solution was agreed to but this is an issue that needs to be properly addressed once and for all. The American public will be hoping that Congress is able to compromise more often in 2013.

With two mass shootings in America in 2012 (Aurora and Sandy Hook) it is not surprising that gun control is the seventh most searched election issue of 2012. The murder of twenty school children at Sandy Hook has shaken the country so much that gun control is now firmly on the President’s agenda. Opposition to any potential changes has predictably come from the NRA and some are fearful that between them the NRA and Republicans may try to limit or completely block any changes to current gun laws. But the most important thing here is that the public wants to see change. No longer is it acceptable for these kinds of tragedies to occur. And the facts about gun control speak for themselves. A Washington Post article written on Dec. 14, 2012 stated, “Last year, economist Richard Florida dove deep into the correlations between gun deaths and other kinds of social indicators. Some of what he found was, perhaps, unexpected: Higher populations, more stress, more immigrants, and more mental illness were not correlated with more deaths from gun violence. But one thing he found was, perhaps, perfectly predictable: States with tighter gun control laws appear to have fewer gun-related deaths.”

It is interesting to use Google statistics in order to determine the most important social issues in America today. While it might not be the most scientific method it is one worth analyzing. The things that people search for on the internet are the things that really matter to them. When they are election issues it shows how important they are to the lives and the future of American citizens. People want to know what the Presidential candidates plan to do in relation to gun control, the economy, welfare, the environment, and so on. These issues affect people every day and that’s why they are so important.

Bio_man:

I think this question is mostly, I think, what my opinion is about these issues. I guess I could use any of these, I just needed some ideas, a place to start.

Take racial inequality, for example, since it's a hot subject at the moment. I found this on WikiPedia, which I believe sums it up nicely:

Thank you for the ideas, I chose racial inequality, gay marriage, and poverty.

I'll mark the topic solved. Feel free to reverse it at any time.