In this article, we take a look at 5 biggest issues in America and the companies working on solving them. If you want to check out our detailed analysis of America’s issues and the market’s unique position to address them, go directly to 15 Biggest Issues in America and the Companies Working on Solving Them.
5. Illegal Immigration
Illegal Immigration is a problem that the US is having a hard time solving due to its border with Mexico. The porous border results in people illegally entering the United States. There’s an estimated 11 million illegal aliens residing in the country, with Mexicans comprising roughly half of them, per the Migration Policy Institute.
According to another report by The Heritage Foundation, 0.7 million illegal aliens enter the country every year on average. In this respect, companies like Anduril Industries are trying to solve the issue through high tech surveillance systems.
4. Student Debt
Student debt is another critical issue in the country. Education has become extremely expensive, with college-tuition costs more than doubling over the past 30 years. This has resulted in more than half the students graduating with student debt as of 2022, for both public and private institutions.
The average student loan debt in the country is $30,000, with a total debt of $1.75 trillion. One Wisconsin Institute’s research shows that it takes roughly 21 years on average to pay off the student debt, creating financial stress for student debtors over the course of their careers.
Some startups have emerged that address this problem. One of these is Rightfoot, whose API is used by a number of companies to create tax-free loan repayment programs as employee perks. Other companies with the same business model include Goodly and FutureFuel.
3. Obesity
Rising obesity in America is fast becoming a public health crisis. According to Trust for America’s Health, nearly 42% of adult Americans are obese as of 2022. It is even higher for Black Americans, with half of adult African Americans overweight compared to 41% of White Americans, 46% of Hispanic Americans and 16% of Asian Americans.
Lack of access to quality healthcare is one of the biggest factors in the problem, coupled with an unhealthy diet, with fast food and junk food playing a major role.
Several startups and established companies are addressing this crisis as we speak, with Rhythm Pharmaceuticals and ReShape Lifesciences being the major names. The former is focusing on developing peptide therapeutics and the latter is working on minimally invasive medical devices to treat obesity.
2. Wealth Inequality
America’s economic traditions have resulted in one of the biggest wealth inequalities in the world, with an elite 1% that holds 32.3% of the country’s wealth as of late 2021, according to the Federal Reserve. In the same year, the wealth of the 1% increased by the same amount as the decrease of the middle class’s wealth, by 27%.
However, the problem has been in the spotlight for a while and the market is increasingly noticing it, resulting in the emergence of startups like Chime and Pioneer that aim to fight inequality through cheap credit and entrepreneurship respectively.
1. Mass Shootings
America has the highest number of guns per capita of any country in the world. Many states in the US do not have red-flag and background-check laws in place, resulting in just about anyone being able to get their hands on an AR15 with a large-capacity magazine.
There were over 620 mass shootings in the US in 2022 alone, so far, resulting in the deaths of more than 40,000 people. In terms of corporate solutions, ZeroEyes and Kogniz, two AI startups, aim to prevent mass shootings from escalating by reducing response time with real-time computer vision designed to detect guns in CCTVs. However, there’s credible skepticism regarding the effectiveness of such solutions for this particular problem.
You can also take a peek at Top 15 Infrastructure Companies in the US and 15 Biggest AI Companies in the World.
