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OpinionWorld Opinion
As I see it
Alex Lo

Despite immense power, the US delivers neither butter nor bullets

While Americans know they can’t get the welfare benefits they need, their leaders must realise their military can’t give them world domination

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US Army soldiers cross a floating bridge on the Imjin River during a joint river-crossing exercise with South Korea as a part of the Freedom Shield military exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on March 20, 2025. Photo: AP
Alex Lo has been an SCMP columnist since 2012, commenting on China and international affairs.

In America today, many low-income workers and households can’t get adequate healthcare or pay for food. Depending on who you ask, medical costs are the number one cause or at least among the top causes of bankruptcy for families.

This is despite the United States spending more on healthcare per capita than any developed economy within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and having the most advanced medical science and technology in the world.

Healthcare is one good indicator of social malaise. Another is people’s ability to put food on the table.

Here’s a statement from this week’s The Washington Post: “Families are paying for groceries with revolving debt, which then traps them into accumulating years of interest payments for food they’ve long since consumed.”

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