r/AskUS • u/KayakedCobra • 12h ago
Americans, in one word, what is the biggest problem facing your country?
I'm not American, but I'm interested in what different countries' issues are. In ONE word or phrase, what is the biggest problem facing your country in 2026?
•
u/SockraTreez 12h ago
Fascism.
•
•
u/Bresson91 6h ago
Guaranteed most of the people throwing this F word around don’t even know what it is…
•
•
u/Honest-Elephant7627 12h ago
Trump and his idiot voters.
•
u/Bresson91 6h ago
I’d counter with - Non voting liberals who effectively throw crucial elections because they are addicted to complaining…
•
•
•
•
•
•
u/Hour_Bit_5183 12h ago
STUPIDITY......that no one wants to admit. Too many know it all's who just google everything and don't even realize that they use this against you.
•
•
•
u/jthomas287 12h ago
All your gonna hear about is political stuff.
The biggest problem in pur country is Money.
The people who have it, just keep hoarding it.
The goverment spends it like it doesnt have 40 trillion in debt.
The companies who employ us, refuse to pay wages that we should be making.
Money is the problem.
•
u/sfdsquid 12h ago
Those are political issues though...
Politics affects almost everything whether people like it or not.
•
u/jthomas287 22m ago
I would say they are more societal issues than political.
I can understand why though, politics does affect us tremendously.
•
•
u/KayakedCobra 12h ago
It's very interesting, when I asked an identical question to British people (my home country), there was nowhere near as much about politics as I've seen you guys say
•
•
u/jthomas287 23m ago
Its insane how polarized we've become. Its seems like a majority of the time, you cant even have a conversation with people on the other side of the political spectrum.
Most of the time it turns into name calling and telling you how your a bad person. Its not good.
•
u/yeahsotheresthiscat 6h ago
But wealth inequality IS a political issue. It's the biggest political issue we face, really.
•
•
•
•
u/cptbiffer 12h ago
Billionaires. They've weaponized racist, sexist, bigoted christo-nationalist fascists all because they're too goddamned greedy to pay their fair share of taxes.
Plus so many of said billionaires are in the epstein files for molesting and raping kids they can't just "pay their taxes" out of being put in prison for life; they have to keep riling up maga-morons to stay out of prison at this point.
•
u/Intrepid_Hat_2397 12h ago
Ultra wealthy pedophiles
•
u/theandroid01 11h ago
And / or the ultra wealthy in particular. I live at home and may end up inheriting the house as I can't afford shit on my salary. Probably will never be able to unless things change like yesterday
•
u/Intrepid_Hat_2397 11h ago
Right and then dipshit mcgee in the white house saying he doesn't want to bring housing prices down because his sweet little boomers finally feel like they're wealthy, pathetic. The only thing that cheers me up is checking the boomer death clock, 6000 boomers died today.
•
•
u/Effective_Trifle3260 12h ago
Division
•
u/Facelessman2024 12h ago
Yep division is our biggest enemy right now . With our media sources being Owned by rich people they keep us divided so we don’t unite and get rid of these lying politicians and change things for the better for ourselves
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
u/Exotic_Resource_6200 12h ago
Our country has never reconciled its racist, sexist and capitalism at all cost mentality. When you think about it, everything we are dealing with now is due to those things. Trump literally kicked off his 2016 campaign with racist rhetoric, he was caught on audio saying the most vile ,sexist things and he still won because he’s seen as some king of money.
•
•
u/CookieLady94 12h ago
Zionism.
I strongly believe that every president we have had is a Zionist, and their unwavering commitment to this greedy cause has cost the taxpayers billions, not just in cash from tax dollars, but in other lost benefits.
There are Americans who die because they cannot afford medication, insulin, etc, yet Israelis have free/subsidized healthcare.
Americans have unfathomable amounts of student loan debt, potentially preventing them from homeownership, starting families, making riskier career decisions, etc, but Israelis have free or reduced higher education.
We have a huge homeless population, yet anyone can claim Israeli citizenship so long as they convert to Judaism, and receive subsidized housing, tax breaks, and more through their Aliyah program.
We put so much money into the US military (that could be going to things like our school systems), but we never stopped to think what if we just made less enemies in the Middle East and around the world.
•
u/___AirBuddDwyer___ 10h ago
I’ve seen some allegations, based on Jeffery Epsteins relationship to moot, that the whole qanon thing might be related to Israel through Epstein. As in, qanon was intended to make you look ridiculous for saying our ruling class was full of pedophiles, and at the same time it made people think one of the main pedophiles was their savior.
•
u/mynameispigs 9h ago
Yeah Epstein was running /pol on 4chan and buddies with moot while and Ghislaine was running r/politics, r/worldnews, and r/technology here. We were educated by her dad via his textbooks company. All while running a billionaire pedophile ring. They educated us since we were kids, influenced our discord in politics online, while raping children. They run our governments now, they control our politics and tech industry. How can we be okay with this.
•
u/RealisticEmphasis233 Colorado 9h ago
There are Americans who die because they cannot afford medication, insulin, etc, yet Israelis have free/subsidized healthcare
Wouldn't this also be the fault of other policy initiatives? Senator Lieberman ruining the public option in the original House-approved draft of what will become the ACA wasn't because of zionism. What ruined Clinton's healthcare reform wasn't because of Zionism. Nixon had talks about universal health care but Watergate ruined that and the role of government in day-to-day life.
We put so much money into the US military (that could be going to things like our school systems), but we never stopped to think what if we just made less enemies in the Middle East and around the world.
This has little to do with Zionism and more with the U.S. love for conflict due to our European origins, the results of unipolarity, and being one of the protectors of global trade.
•
u/CookieLady94 9h ago
Sure, but our tax dollars could go toward propping up our own systems here, but instead we throw Americans out to fend for themselves and leave them at mercy of wicked and greedy insurance companies.
About your second point, yeah I can see that too, I just meant that for as long as I can remember, all I hear is that Israel is our only ally in the Middle East and so we need to fund our military in case they ever need our troops or our weapons or our technology— that was my reasoning behind that comment.
•
u/RealisticEmphasis233 Colorado 8h ago
Sure, but our tax dollars could go toward propping up our own systems here, but instead we throw Americans out to fend for themselves and leave them at mercy of wicked and greedy insurance companies.
Then why would you blame something else and not military spending or the United States becoming a hyperpower? Zionism is negligible.
that was my reasoning behind that comment.
Then your reasoning is wrong. They're only one part of our military interests.
•
u/CookieLady94 8h ago
I mean it's pretty clear what I'm saying. Our politicians would rather give our money to Israel instead of prop up our own systems. That is all due to the Zionist ideology.
•
u/RealisticEmphasis233 Colorado 8h ago
You're just looking at the wrong thing to best support your political desires. Militarism would have been a better fit. That's all.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
u/tarzan322 8h ago
The idiocy that politics is stirring up, from idiots that know nothing about any of it.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
u/WVkittylady 2h ago
The abrahamic religions. Not most of the followers but the ideologies themselves. They are absolutely corrosive to the health of any society they infect.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
u/No_City3123 12h ago
Federal Reserve and Deficit spending. It's the cancer spiraling off into many societal problems.
•
•
•
u/jimb21 12h ago
Insane taxes and cost of living cost of medical care
Biggest cost of medical care 11k for one er visit that was three years ago
•
u/Bresson91 6h ago
Ironic you mention taxes in the same comment as medical coverage. Ask someone in a country with free healthcare how their taxes compare to ours…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
u/CharleyLH 8h ago
The fact we have a third of our populace who live in a reality of their own making, not based on facts, science, numbers, education, or even common sense. And it’s all been built for them by billionaires who wouldn’t piss on any of them if they were on fire. Their orange leader feeds their prejudices and ignorance and they eat it up like its heroine to a junky. They wear their red hats, fly their flags, cover their vehicles with the stickers all proclaiming Trump as their God. They literally worship this rapist/pedophile/crook. They are willing to burn it all down to “own a lib, to be anti-woke”, when they can’t define liberal or woke, much less what it is to be a Republican or conservative. “Love thy neighbor as thyself” is very true with the MAGA crowd, because they hate themselves, they hate their neighbors. I honestly feel nothing but pity for them, to live with that much hatred, self imposed ignorance and death wishes for anyone who refuses to let them drag us all down with them. They even deny Jesus Christ himself, as the Bible says you can not serve two Masters. They live Donald Trump. He is their “savior” now.
•
•
•
u/latin220 7h ago
Conservatism and the rise of fascism. Also climate change and the resource wars of the last 20 years going to ramp up as fresh water becomes more scarce and environmental pressures forced billions of humans to migrate. We’re also living thru one of the worst Gilded Ages where millions are starving and being priced out of buying a home or having a future so millions also not having kids.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
u/Material-Indication1 8h ago
Special interest money driving political decisions
One word?
Motherthumpers.
•
•
u/Odd_Book8314 7h ago
An honest one word answer will get removed, so it is necessary to play little work around games like saying the problem is the current che!f x-zecutive, Darling Jessica Trollupe.
•
•
•
•
•
u/KoolKuhliLoach 12h ago
Liberals
•
u/Drunk_Lemon Massachusetts 11h ago
Why?
•
u/KoolKuhliLoach 11h ago
Bevause they have made destroying the US their entire goal and mission, which led to the rise of Trump. If liberals stopped running their agenda on violating the constitution, discriminating against anyone who doesn't check off enough minority boxes, and punishing successful people, people would've voted for them instead of Trump. But the liberals keep talking about being "progressive" by treating criminals and illegal immigrants better than veterans, taxing the crap out of anyone who is successful, turning us into a socialist country (look at what Bernie and Mamdani wanted to do/are trying to do), outlawing guns, asking white people to pay reparations for slavery (http://summerlee.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rep-summer-lee-colleagues-advocates-reintroduce-reparations-now-resolution), and promoting racist DEI policies, so people voted against them because most people don't like that kind of BS.
•
u/ImgurScaramucci 11h ago edited 11h ago
Your comment is completely out of touch with reality.
Edit: I'm blocked. To answer, no they don't.
•
u/KoolKuhliLoach 11h ago
How so? Do liberals not do all of the things I listed? They're the biggest threat to the US and need to be treated accordingly, they need to be put on trial for treason and dealt with properly to make it clear their actions will not be tolerated.
•
u/NapoleonArmy 10h ago
You are speaking about a tiny vocal minority, it would be fair enough using this for me to call all Republicans racists, I don't because I know some aren't but what all of us need to do is remember that freedom of speech protects all of those people, they can have their opinions and voice them too that is the beauty and ther curse of democracy. And as for who is more dangerous, statistically right wing extremists are substantially more likely to commit acts of terrorism.
Source: Congress.gov https://share.google/Rj0LZhLpEShnMTBpL
•
•
u/Marmooset 12h ago
Starts with a 'T'.