FX.co ★ 9 facts about US that you probably do not know

Free press is not as free as everyone is used to think

One of the key principles of freedom in the United States, enshrined in the Constitution, is free press. Notably, in the ranking of the World Press Freedom Index, the US occupies 48th place out of 180 for the third year in a row.

According to experts, the reason for such a low position is fake news which undermines the freedom of the press in the country, as well as the foundations of American democracy.

Equal rights are not for everyone

When it comes to gender equality, the US is probably among the most patriarchal countries.

According to the 2019 Sustainable Development Goals Gender Index, gender equality is an edgy topic in the US. For instance, in public services, women hold fewer positions compared to men. Besides, wage inequality and workplace harassment are the main issues that face women in the US.

In terms of gender equality, the United States is now on par with Bulgaria in the international ranking.

Women in the US are paid less than men, even if they hold the same position. For every dollar a man earns, a woman earns 63 cents.

High rate of childhood mortality from firearms injuries

This topic is being widely discussed for years. Statistically, the rate of childhood mortality from firearms is much higher in the US than anywhere else in the world. Children’s death by firearms ranks the second. The first place is taken by car accidents. Cancer is on the third place.

Therefore, fewer children die from cancer in the US than from firearms. 4% of these deaths were involuntary manslaughter, 35% suicides, and 60% homicides.

US has refused to ratify many international agreements

The US rarely ratifies international agreements. Even if the agreement is signed, the country may delay its ratification and evade its execution. For example, the US has not ratified the agreement that ended the Korean war more than 65 years ago.

The US has also not ratified the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles.

US infrastructure is underdeveloped

Curiously enough, the US is the birthplace of the Internet but it lags behind other countries in terms of the speed of the Internet. The United States is on the 38th place out of 141 in the ranking of the Speedtest Global Index.

Experts say that pages load very slowly due to poorly developed infrastructure. This includes the lack of roads, bridges, dams, and many other facilities.

Besides, infrastructure facilities are often in a sorry state as no one wants to pay for their renovation.

High rate of credit debts

Americans pay with credit cards for almost everything. Credit card debt is part of ordinary American life. Buying one thing after another, US citizens do not notice how fast they get themselves into debt. Quite often the loan reaches more than $30 thousand.

Notably, overall credit card debt of the US residents totals $4 000 000 000 000.

This amount includes debts on all credit cards with an average interest rate of 17.41%.

Homelessness and income inequality

These two problems have affected many developed countries, including the UK and France, but in the US these problems are more thorny.

In 2018, about 0.17% of the US population lives on the street. It means that the number of homeless people in the United States reaches 553 thousand people. There are a lot of homeless children in the States of Washington, Texas, Oregon, Florida, California, as well as in New York.

US locks up more people than anywhere else in the world

This fact is widely known. There are 72 prisoners per 100 thousand inhabitants of the country which is more than in any other country in the world. The total number of prisoners amounts to 2.2 million people. This is equal to the population of Macedonia.

This is why the US faces two core problems. First, the country's prisons are overcrowded. According to official data, the figure reaches 107.6% out of 100%. Secondly, 21% of prisoners were not sentenced to prison.

If a person cannot afford a ransom, he/she must remain in jail until he/she is sentenced that can take a long time.

This means that innocent people are forced to remain in prison among others.

Well-being of US children is declining

Nowadays, in the US, the well-being of children is getting worse. Parents complain about high levels of illiteracy, poor health care, and many other psychological, and social problems.

Another problem is illegal immigrants and their children. Trump's policy toward immigrants and their children, particularly the separation of children and parents, has been heavily criticized by the public and human rights organizations. At the moment, no one can say exactly how many children have been taken from their parents.