Dear Editor,
The Guyanese people’s fascination with the United States is limitless. America is a dreamland of limitless possibilities. And yes, there are grounds for looking up to the United States. There are too many good things to enumerate here.
At the same time, the US is a deeply troubled country, and those who want the new Guyana to become like America had better beware. It is best to begin with some simple facts on income, health, and education.
Real median household income in the US in 2021 was US$70,784, among the highest in the world. Yet, 37% of Americans (in 2023) do not have enough cash if they had an unexpected expense of $400, and 18% do not have even $100 in cash for an emergency expense. In 2022, 44% of Americans spent more than they earned, and 65% reported not having enough retirement savings (Will Daniel, 5/23/2023). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2022 and April 2023, real average wages dropped.
According to a recent study by Dr. Amy Glasmeier and colleagues of MIT, a living wage in the US should be $45 an hour. The Federal Minimum Wage, however, is $7.25 an hour. Many states and counties have mandated a $15.00 minimum wage, but there are numerous modifications that prevent universal enforcement. Note also that a large illegal or otherwise vulnerable labour force translates into wages being paid even below the Federal Minimum of $7.25. Most of the vulnerable workers have zero benefits, and no protection under labour law.
If you take other key indicators of wellbeing (human development), things do not look so good for Americans. Let us start with health. No less than 28 million Americans have no healthcare insurance of any kind. Medicare and Medicaid are not automatic. Those with insurance pay through their teeth.
“If you are buying an ACA (Obama Care) plan as non-subsidized health insurance for a family of 4, you can expect to pay about $25,000 for the year in premiums and deductibles. That breaks down to an average of $17,244 in annual premium cost for health insurance for families of 4, and $7,767 in deductible expenses” (Davalon, October 28, 2022).
This does not include prescriptions. Note that medications in the US are among the highest priced in the world. Research by Rand Corporation found that Americans pay more than 150% higher prices for medication than in 32 countries.
“U.S. patients are even paying triple the price for Rx drugs as Koreans, Portuguese and Australians, and 3.5 times as much as Slovakians, Greeks and residents of some of the Baltic countries” (K. Buchholz, 8/9/2022).
650,000 people in the US go bankrupt every year due to medical bills. You should note that this is not restricted to “surprise billing”, which is a particularly pernicious form of extortion in the world of medical billing. The No Surprises Act (NSA) effective from January 2022 has helped, but has not prevented medical billing.
What Guyanese should know is that even though Americans pay huge premiums for health insurance, they must still cough up something called “co-pay.” This is an additional fee you pay every time you have an appointment.
Shall we turn to education please? Students in the United States owe more than US$1 trillion in debt. The average college student who took out a loan owes US$20,000 twenty years after they graduate. The tuition for most top-notch universities in the US is more than $55,000. Many have reached $75,000 per annum. Note that this is not for professional training in medicine, law, engineering, or business. This is just for the Bachelor’s degree! Two further points here: firstly, the figures above do not include living expenses – housing, food, books, transportation, and everyday living. Secondly, while scholarships are widely available, only a small percentage of students get a ‘full ride.’ The scholarships, while impressive in dollar amounts, usually cover only about a third of tuition, and nothing towards housing, books and other fees.
You should also note that there is extraordinarily little funding for the Master’s degree. Currently, 43 million students have outstanding loans. The average debt to the Federal Government is $37,000, while private debts stand at US$54,921 (M. Hansen).
There are also huge racial disparities in student debt. “Four years after graduating, nearly half of Black graduates owe more on their loans than their initial balance, compared with just seventeen per cent of White graduates” (E. Schirmer, New Yorker, 7/27/2022). Many older Americans are still paying off student loans. 2.8 million who are in their 60s are still clearing their student debts.
The education system is rife with inequalities. A great deal depends on race, class, and zip codes. Since these variables are highly intersected, the K-12 education system is one of staggering inequalities. A good indicator of these inequalities can be garnered from the data on “Free or Reduced Lunch” (F&R) programs. These programs provide free lunch or low to students based on family income.
Right now, 53 million American kids are on F&R (https://educationdata.org/average-student-loan-debt). When that figure is disaggregated by county, and then by zip code, the picture of structural inequality becomes even more stark.
Maryland is one of the richest states in the US, but even here, the Baltimore City Public School district has an F&R rate of 88.24%. This means that 88.24% of families in this school district do not earn enough to purchase or make lunch for their children. There are millions of families that suffer from the same poverty.
CLR James once stated that the United States is a great and interesting country. I agree. What makes it interesting, however, might give pause to the narrative of a land of milk and honey. Guyanese who have not lived in the US cannot know the hardships, sacrifices, and multiple challenges that Americans are faced with daily. And do note, we have not even touched mass shootings, xenophobia, racism, or political divisiveness that can and have troubled the democratic tradition of that great nation. All things considered, therefore, should the US be a role model for Guyana?
Sincerely,
Dr Randolph B. Persaud
