There's a quote often attributed to Einstein (if he actually said it or not is largely irrelevant) that seems especially relevant these days:

Problems cannot be solved with the same mind set that created them.
~Albert Einstein

So, what does that even mean? It means that whatever values or logic was used when a problem was created cannot be used to determine the solution. Although I wouldn't necessarily agree with that universally, it's certainly a valuable perspective to keep in mind when trying to solve the big problems of our time like healthcare, education, poverty, et cetera. But before we can attempt to find a solution, we have to understand what the problems are and how they were created.

It should be pretty clear that these are complex issues and breaking them down to a single cause is, at best, simplistic and outright fallacious at worst. That said, that doesn't mean we can't focus on one part of a problem's production at a time, especially if there is a theme or common factor for the different issues. One precipitant that I see that pervades the issues with healthcare, education and poverty is actually the individualistic outlook of American society.

For those unfamiliar with the term, that basically means our tendency to put the individual's values and worth ahead of that of the larger social group or society. Contrast it with collectivism, which is far more pervasive in "Eastern" cultures where the values and worth of the social group (i.e. family) or society as a whole are put ahead of the individual. Too extreme in either direction is less than ideal; extreme individualism has the individual acting only for their own self-interest with no regard for the larger collective while extreme collectivism can limit individuals to very specific social roles with no flexibility or understanding for what they might want.

I believe that American society generally keeps too strongly to individualism and that generates a whole host of issues. Take vaccinations, for instance. A key element of why vaccinations are helpful is that they create herd immunity, where even those who can not be vaccinated (for any of a number of different reasons) benefit because the people around them are immune. As a result, they are much less likely to catch a given disease to which most of the population has been immunized. However, with people asserting their individuality to choose not to be vaccinated, that herd immunity can become compromised and place people at risk.

Here's the theme for most of these issues: Some members of the social structure suffer because of others asserting their individuality.

I entirely understand people not wanting their taxes raised for the sake of universal healthcare, for instance. However, that results in the impoverished and severely ill (who can't keep up with medical bills no matter how hard they try) suffering either deeper poverty, worse health or both.

Everyone wants the best education they can get for their children, no one is going to argue that such an urge is unreasonable. However, inequitable distribution of money to public schools results in inner city schools, with the most at-risk youth, being underfunded while the suburban schools with low-risk populations have enormous funding (relatively speaking).

No one likes taxes, and it can certainly feel unfair to pay a greater percentage because of having a better paying job. It feels unfair, I understand that. However, higher taxes on the wealthy go a long way to keeping the tax burden reasonable for everyone and funding the whole host of public works that benefit society as a whole.

I'm not out to vilify anyone right now, I just want to raise awareness of the pitfalls of too much individualism. There are plenty of pitfalls in too much collectivism, don't get me wrong, but that doesn't mean there isn't merit in moving slightly towards that end of the spectrum.

So perhaps we should all (and yes, I'm including myself in this recommendation) take the extra few moments to ask "How will this impact people who aren't like me?" A simple question to promote mindfulness and temper our individualistic culture. There are too many implications of this for me to speak exhaustively on it, but I do recommend anyone interested read up on game theory. Ultimately I'm trying to promote perspectives that maximize positive outcomes for as many as possible, even if they may not be the best for me individually (which, as a straight, white male, most of what I do involves reducing my own privilege).