Our "Most Corrosive Social Problem"

There was an interesting editorial in the NYTimes today. Unfortunately, the stance is not news, or new. I have two questions that follow the slice:

The great achievement of No Child Left Behind is that it has forced the states to focus at last on educational inequality, the nation's most corrosive social problem. But it has been less successful at getting educators and politicians to see the education problem in a global context, and to understand that this country is rapidly losing ground to the nations we compete with for high-skilled jobs that require a strong basis in math and science...

...The United States needs to develop a coherent policy that makes schools better everywhere. That means strengthening teaching and curriculum in poor communities, and it also means improving education for the best American students, who look like geniuses in math and science until they are stacked up against better-prepared foreign youngsters. Unless this country acts, our economy will wind up occupying the same low-performing spot on the global charts that our schools occupy now.

Question 1 - Can we think of at least one other social ill that is more corrosive than the trouble with education across the board? I'll bet the blogisphere can produce more. If you have a suggestion for the NYTimes editors as to what might be more corrosive than the failing of America's schools, place a comment below.

Question 2 - Are they suggesting we federalize the schools? There has to be a set of solutions that will improve our schools. if you have one idea or more, please comment below.