State of the union: a perspective

Commercial companies, non-profits, government agencies, and military organizations evaluate their performance periodically. The U.S. Constitution requires that the President of the United States “… shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union….” George Washington delivered the first address in 1790. These addresses often deal with major issues of the moment. Very probably, the forthcoming Feb. 7 address will include something about Israel and Palestine. Other measurements of the state of our union are cited below.

*Annual GDP: $26 trillion

*Federal government annual revenue: $4.4 trillion

*Federal government annual expenditures: $6.1 trillion

*Federal government current annual budget deficit: $1.7 trillion

*National debt: $33 trillion

*Current annual interest payment on the national debt: 659 billion dollars

*U.S. annual exports: 3.01 trillion dollars

*U.S. annual imports: 3.96 trillion dollars

*Median income: $55,000 (half of us earn less)

*Number of Americans living in poverty: $41.5 million (defined as an individual living on

$14,880 or less per year, or a family of four living on $29,678 or less)

*Incarcerated (prisons and jails): 1.9 million people (cost $80 billion a year)

*High school graduation rate: 90 percent

*Four-year college degree or higher: 35 percent

*Home ownership: 65 percent of Americans own their home. (40 percent of those have no mortgage; the other 60 percent make mortgage payments).

*Homeless Americans: 653,000

*U.S. unemployment rate: 3.7 percent (6.4 million people unemployed)

*Contributions to charity: Americans donate $484 billion per year to charities.

*War (Strategy to successfully conclude 20 years of U.S. military operations in the

Middle East and Africa): Inadequate

*Nuclear weapons: Large numbers of weapons and the means to deliver them constitute a

continuing threat to human civilization

*Trust in the performance of our national government: Not much

*Status of infrastructure: e.g., aged water lines and treatment facilities: Inadequate maintenance

*Response to climate change: Stormy political weather

*Behavior induced health problems: 25 percent of Americans have health problems

induced by improper diet, smoking, alcohol, and insufficient exercise.

*Addiction: 46 million Americans are addicted to a chemical substance

*Women’s reproductive issues: Biology versus law. Bet on biology.

*Race relations: A work in progress

*Immigration: Unresolved

*State of the Union: Challenged but solid at age 235

*Opportunity for a better America: Unlimited

This is certainly not an exhaustive evaluation of our government and society. There are many other things that could be or should be measured.

Jack Stevenson is a retired infantry officer, civil service and private corporation employee who now reads history, follows issues important to Americans, and writes commentary from his home in Pensacola, Florida.