A More Perfect Union By the Center for American Progress January 13, 2021, 9:00 am Getty/Construction Photography/Avalon Julia Cusick Introduction and summary The next decade will prove pivotal to the future of the United States. America will either adopt an ambitious program of national rebuilding and address the serious challenges of the present day, or it will confront continued national stagnation. National rebuilding requires bold, immediate, and interlocking action to subdue a devastating pandemic, recover from the resulting economic collapse, reduce societal inequalities, address climate change, and navigate the shifting tectonic plates of the international system. America’s current predicament demands political courage to pull the country together and take necessary action.