Policy
analysts may find it useful to divide a society's problems into
their component parts, but the exercise is misleading. When we
dwell separately upon the problems of infancy and early childhood,
adolescence and young adulthood, older adults, and the aged, we
risk obscuring a larger point: the extent to which all the groups
of any society are interconnected. However compelling the special
needs of each distinct group, each also remains dependent upon the
welfare of the others.
The elderly
are not alone in their passionate interest in social programs that
help with the costs of long-term care. Working adults share this
concern, for without such help, the destitute aged may impose
crushing financial burdens on their sons and daughters. Similarly,
if we rescue young children, even before birth, from the blighting
effects of poor nutrition and medical care, not only is their
suffering diminished but society saves billions of dollars in
future medical costs. The benefits of education are equally
profound. America's competitiveness in the world economy, as well
as its internal tranquility, depend heavily upon our ability to
produce a skilled, well-educated work force, rather than relegating
more and more of our young people to an alienated, unproductive
underclass.
The continued
neglect of these and other social problems threatens to deepen the
current conflicts in American society, for the forces of division
do not stand still. Most Americans still live in the traditional
nuclear family, with two parents to share in producing income,
caring for children, and maintaining the home. But more and more
families are headed by single parents who find it much harder to
cope. In an economy that demands more and more highly skilled
workers, those who are well educated can count on commensurate
rewards and those who are not so prepared will be able to count on
less and less.
We cannot
overstate the shortsightedness of ignoring America's social
challenges. Granted that not all previous attempts to address them
have met with success,