The "social contracts" in european nations reflect those societies as does lack of one in the US. The author for some reaso correlates the opiod crisis even tho

The "social contracts" in european nations reflect those societies as does lack of one in the US. The author for some reaso correlates the opiod crisis even though he admits there has never been such a "social contract" in the history of the U.S. Moreover,he lumps "strongmen" with "self-help" and religion with no obvious relation other than people "turn" to them. And generalizes by saying being "joel osteen enough" is what conservatives mean when speaking of family values. This is how democracy works,americans simply don't have the same beliefs and world views as swedes or portugese. No strings attached housing for homeless people is cheaper than leaving them on the streets. Treating drugs as a disease instead of a crime is cheaper. Earlier retirement of elders allows younger workers with more relevant skills to join the work force. A more humane prison system would result in less prisoners (cheaper). So,are americans simply unaware of this? Nope. "Americans" are a diverse group of people with a diverse set of social divisions and conflicts. They simply don't think "free housing" or most anything "free" is a good idea even if free is cheaper than what we have now. Why should a criminal get treated better? Why can't homeless peoole get a low paying job just like immigrants? Etc.... That's how americans see these issues. The homeless,poor,under privledged are "them" in the eyes of the american popular majority. In western europe,those people are "us" or "our people". America spends 20% of it's gdp on the military. Yet spend a bit more to solve these societal issues and all the powerful (typically older) people would say "not with my tax money". That being said,why is everyone so pessimistic? We know these problems. It might take a decade or more for the demographics to shift enough to where we can fix these issues but why panic? Essentially, America needs to be united. Neither the leaders nor the population seem to have a strong interest in being united,this by itself is the equivalent of having a terminal brain tumor!