An unhealthy economy might portend bad news for physical and mental health.
The issue: When the global economy slumped during the Great Recession of 2007-2009, Americans grappled with effects on their personal finances and employment status. At its peak, unemployment during the Great Recession topped out at 10 percent.
An overwhelming amount of scientific evidence has shown that the earth is getting hotter. As the planet warms, humans in some of the most extreme climates are struggling to adapt.
Northern states have provided a shrinking supply of military recruits over the past four-plus decades, while the south’s contribution has grown. Washington, D.C., North Dakota and Massachusetts send the fewest recruits per capita into the armed services.
The past 25 years in the United States have been marked by growing income inequality, increasing political divisions and rising immigration. A 2006 Princeton University study, “Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches,” looks at possible connections between these trends.
The issue: Gaps in student achievement often fit familiar patterns. Children from wealthy families generally perform better on tests than students from poorer families; white students tend to do better than black or Hispanic students.
Student loan debt has become an increasing problem in recent years. As the New York Federal Reserve notes in a 2013 report, “Over the last eight years, aggregate educational debt outstanding has almost tripled, rising to nearly $1 trillion and becoming the largest consumer liability after mortgages.”
The Pew Charitable Trusts
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