Past Jeffrey Epstein: 4 tales that really matter extra for America’s future

[ad_1] Over the previous couple of weeks, one story has overshadowed each different, irrespective of how necessary they may be: Jeffrey Epstein.

Until you’ve been taking your summer time trip on Mars, you most likely know the contours of the story. (And when you don’t, my Vox colleague Andrew Prokop wrote a useful summary this week .) However what issues right here isn’t a lot the main points as it's the sheer, unrelenting consideration it has commanded.

Between July 6, earlier than the story actually started to explode, and July 13, on-line searches on the subject elevated by 1,900 p.c, according to a Newsweek analysis . A CNN analyst famous that over roughly the identical time scale, Epstein was Googled 2.5 occasions greater than Grok — this through the AI mannequin’s, uh, newsworthy launch — and 1.4 occasions greater than tariffs.

The furor over the case has led to Congress essentially shutting down early for the summer time, a Republican effort to evade Democrats’ sudden and politically handy calls for for transparency. It’s not an excessive amount of to say that the enterprise of America has all however halted due to a years-old felony case.

I’m not saying the Epstein case is completely with out significance. The crime was horrific, the investigation particulars murky, and the political ramifications if the case shakes the president’s connection to his political base are clearly significant. (And if you wish to examine any of that, nicely, excellent news — you haven't any scarcity of sources.) However there's nearly no manner we’ll look again in 20 years and suppose that the relitigation of the Epstein case was clearly a very powerful factor occurring on the earth in July 2025.

Consideration is a finite useful resource, and you are where your attention is . A narrative like Epstein is analogous to a senseless, out-of-control fireplace consuming all of the oxygen in a burning home. So I assumed I’d put collectively an inventory of 4 tales occurring proper now that matter much more for the nation and the world than the contents of the Epstein Recordsdata. And honest warning — they’re not all excellent news tales, however they completely are price your consideration.

1) America’s harmful debt spiral

By the primary 9 months of the 2025 fiscal yr, which works as much as this June, the USA spent $749 billion on curiosity on the nationwide debt, greater than it spent on something aside from Social Safety. Not the debt itself — simply the curiosity. And our debt drawback is accelerating: In keeping with the Congressional Finances Workplace (CBO), President Donald Trump’s not too long ago handed budget bill will add $3.4 trillion to the nationwide stability sheet over the subsequent decade.

You may say: So what? Finances scolds have been warning concerning the debt since at the least the Eighties, and probably the most dire predictions have but to come back true. However because the economist Herbert Simon once warned , referring particularly to unsustainable financial insurance policies: “If one thing can not go on eternally, it can cease.” Whereas “there’s no magic quantity at which the debt load turns into a full-on disaster,” as my colleague Dylan Matthews wrote final yr, nearly every thing that's occurring now — together with persistently excessive rates of interest, which make debt that rather more painful, as anybody with a current mortgage is aware of — signifies that disaster level is on its manner.

And what is going to occur then? The CBO warns that except funds patterns shift dramatically, the nation will face an unpalatable mixture of large tax hikes, extreme cuts to important companies, even default. And our debt drawback intersects catastrophically with a few of America’s different generational challenges, just like the fertility and aging crisis (see No. 3) and the country’s ability to defend itself (No. 4).

2) A world starvation disaster

I’ve written earlier than concerning the long-term enhancements in child mortality and extreme poverty . These developments are actual, and so they symbolize a number of the greatest causes to really feel optimistic concerning the world.

However constructive long-term developments can masks intervals of setback. In relation to childhood starvation, the world is in peril of falling again. A new UNICEF report exhibits that after greater than twenty years of constant progress, little one stunting — early-life malnutrition that may result in much less progress and lifelong well being issues — seems to be rising once more. And whereas the humanitarian catastrophe that is Gaza at the least has the world’s consideration, if not sufficient of its assist, starvation is spreading in different nations that stay below the radar.

In Africa’s largest nation of Nigeria, practically 31 million people face acute food insecurity — virtually equal to the inhabitants of Texas. Ethiopia, Pakistan, and Yemen have all seen alarming reversals in childhood dietary well being. Add in surges in food prices pushed by excessive climate, and the devastating effects of cuts in US food aid , and you've got a recipe for an issue that's getting worse on the very second when the willingness to assist is eroding.

3) An actual inhabitants bomb

In relation to long-term, world-changing developments, local weather change will get a lot of the consideration (if not essentially the motion). However there’s one other problem unfolding in practically each nation on the earth that can be simply as transformative — and for which we could also be even much less ready.

That’s the inhabitants slowdown. In 2024, the US fertility rate hit an all-time low of lower than 1.6 births per girl, far under the two.1 required to keep up the present inhabitants degree. Whereas different nations like Japan or Italy will get there sooner, the US is totally on a path to an ageing, shrinking future. As early as 2033, annual deaths are predicted to outpace annual births , whereas by 2050, one in each 5 People can be over the age of 65 .

Given {that a} technology in the past, we had been worrying about global overpopulation , many individuals appear to suppose a smaller population would largely be a very good factor. Actually that’s what my emails counsel every time I write about the issue . Properly, let me let you know this: It is not going to. (Even for climate change, apparently .)

An ageing and finally shrinking inhabitants will put extra stress on every thing from well being care to pension methods to financial productiveness, in ways in which — absent some kind of technological miracle — will make us poorer , and can change life in methods we can only begin to imagine . And nobody actually has any thought tips on how to repair it, or if it’s even fixable in any respect.

4) A generational safety problem

The Chilly Struggle ended practically 35 years in the past. For all of that point, the US has loved a traditionally unprecedented place of worldwide navy supremacy. People have lived with the background assumption that the US would by no means actually face a warfare with a real geopolitical rival — and positively wouldn’t lose one. Of all our nationwide privileges, that may be probably the most foundational one. However that basis is in peril of crumbling.

Geopolitical tensions — particularly with China — are escalating, but America’s navy readiness is quietly degrading. The US Navy’s current annual budget is over a quarter-trillion {dollars}, however the service nonetheless maintains concerning the same number of ships as in 2003. Whereas the US builds about 5 business ships a yr, China builds more than 1,000 , and its naval fleet is already larger .

On the identical time, America’s munitions reserves are dangerously low. In supporting Israel throughout its current battle with Iran, practically 14 p.c of the US’s very important THAAD missile interceptor inventory was expended — simply replenishing these shops could take as much as eight years. In the meantime, Pentagon authorities temporarily paused shipments of Patriot missiles and different crucial air-defense methods to Ukraine amid international stockpile pressures. US air defenses now reportedly have only a quarter of the interceptors wanted for all of the Pentagon’s navy plans. Ought to a significant battle pop up in, oh I don’t know, Taiwan , important munitions could possibly be depleted far quicker than manufacturing might change them. That’s the way you lose wars.

None of those tales are scandals, and none of them generate nice social media content material. They’re arduous, long-term, wonky, even boring. However they're necessary. They usually deserve our consideration.

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