Essay/Term paper: Concerns facing the united states in the 1990s: crime, education, and employment

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Education

Concerns Facing the United States in the 1990s: Crime, Education, and Employment


A variety of concerns face the United States in the 1990's. Among these
concerns are crime, education, and employment. But fortunately our government
and several organizations have attempted to deal with these problems to help our
world become a better place.
Crime has been a big concern of the American public in the 1990's. In
many poles it was found to be that Americans thought that crime was the number
one problem facing the U.S. today. Robberies, manslaughter and rape are just a
few of the things that have become major problems in this decade. We also face
the problem of jails being overrun with convicts and such, and this is all being
paid for by the taxpayer's money. Fortunately, a law was passed in 1994 which
has put more police on the streets, increased drug enforcement, border patrols,
and crime prevention programs.
Another concern we deal with as Americans is education. Many students
drop out of school early. Many of the rest graduate knowing less math, science,
and history than other industrialized nations. Illiteracy rates are high, and
more and more students are graduating from school even if they have been absent
more days than allowed. To improve this, committees have been organized will
develop voluntary national and state standards for education and authorize
grants to develop model programs to improve learning.
Employment is an issue that every American must deal with. In society
today, women are forcing their way into the business world. Although females'
incomes are generally less than males, both incomes are needed for general
household expenses. One problem which sometimes arises is the matter of
children. Although the woman generally stays home with the children when the
are born and young, the men in the family have to take this responsibility also.
This led to the Family and Medical Leave Act which allows workers to take up to
twelve weeks of unpaid leave in the event of death in the family, birth,
adoption, or a sever illness (in businesses of more than 50 employees). The
workers do not receive an income, but are guaranteed their jobs when they come
back.
Even though there are many problems that affect Americans today, there
are also organizations and committees out there to help make things better.
Because of this help, areas like crime, education, and employment will hopefully
not be as big of an issue in the next century as they are now.