Here’s a list of 10 major issues facing the United States that political leaders will need to address. These are drawn from recent research and assessments of the current national situation. The list was generated by Chat GPT. Add your own major priorities to this list.
Economic pressure: inflation, cost of living & household affordability
- A large share of Americans say inflation remains a “very big problem.”
- The affordability of health care has climbed sharply as a concern.
- Political leaders need to address rising prices, stagnant wages (for many), housing costs, and support for lower-income households.
- National debt and rising entitlement/health-cost burdens are flagged as “perhaps the greatest long-term threat.”
- The growing ratio of debt to GDP constrains government flexibility for policy and future generations.
- Leaders must balance sustaining key programs, tax/revenue policy, and long-term budget discipline.
- Issues like obesity, chronic conditions, mental‐health struggles, opioid misuse remain major public health burdens.
- Affordability and access to healthcare are top concerns for the public.
- The system needs reform (for cost, access, preventative care), and public health infrastructure must be strengthened.
- Education (and more broadly skills/workforce readiness) is a growing policy battleground.
- Gaps in educational outcomes, access to higher-skill jobs, and regional differences (urban vs rural) point to opportunity inequities.
- Leaders must invest in education, vocational training, and adapt to changing labour markets (including technology/AI).
- Emerging technologies (AI, automation) are flagged as one of the biggest issues to watch for 2025.
- These raise questions of job disruption, privacy, fairness, bias, regulatory frameworks.
- Political leadership must develop smart governance for tech while preserving innovation.
- Many surveys show concern about poor government leadership and an inability of the political system to work.
- Broader institutional trust (in media, government, etc) is also weak.
- Leaders need to rebuild trust, improve bipartisanship or at least functional governance, and strengthen democratic norms.
- Insurance markets, disaster-risk, and infrastructure resilience are under pressure due to more frequent extreme weather/disasters.
- Aging infrastructure, under-investment and climate-related risks all compound the problem.
- Political leaders must invest in infrastructure and build resilience (transportation, utilities, broadband, disaster readiness).
- Immigration (particularly concerns around illegal immigration) regularly appears among the top public issues.
- Demographic shifts (aging population) affect labour force, social services, and fiscal burdens as well.
- Leaders must craft sustainable immigration policy, integrate newcomers, and plan for demographic change (e.g., older population).
- Issues of unequal opportunity—whether by race, region, socioeconomic status—remain central though may be less ranked in some surveys.
- Ensuring all citizens have access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity is key for social stability and fairness.
- Political leadership needs to address structural inequalities and focus on inclusion.
- The U.S. is operating in a more contested global environment (technology, trade, diplomacy).
- To maintain economic and strategic strength, U.S. leaders must handle trade policy, alliances, technology leadership, supply-chain resilience.
- Domestic policy intersects with foreign policy in important ways (e.g., investing in R&D, tech, defence).
- These issues are interconnected: e.g., economic pressure + workforce readiness + tech change → all affect each other.
- They require long-term strategy, not just short-term fixes.
- Many are structural problems (debt, demographic change, infrastructure) meaning outcomes will unfold over decades.
- Public sentiment (surveys) shows these issues matter to people—even if they prioritize them differently.
