Socialism?
The Scandinavian countries beat us on almost every measure.
The problem driving the US down is the Ayn Rand assholes.
Tag Archives: economic mobility
What Happened to That American Exceptionalism? There is None Anymore…
America has been on the decline since Raygun – despite on small moment of high achievement and expectations during the Clinton Administration.
The lang fall into mediocrity in America can be traced directly to the steps of the conservatives in America. Al most every country which is superior to the US in any category has a government and social system which conservatives would call “socialism”. Quite frankly – socialism is kicking our ass.
I am going to start with parts of an article in Fortune Magazine… 12 signs America is on the decline.
1. Median household income
Rank of U.S.: 27th out of 27 high-income countries
Americans may feel like global leaders, but Spain, Cyprus and Qatar all have higher median household incomes than America’s (about $54,000). So does much of Europe and the industrialized world. Per capita median income in the US ($18,700) is also relatively low–and unchanged since 2000. A middle-class Canadian’s income is now higher.
2. Education and skills
Rank of U.S.: 16th out of 23 countries
The US ranked near the bottom in a skills survey by theOrganization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which examined European and other developed nations. In its Skills Outlook 2013, the US placed 16th in adult literacy, 21st in adult numeracy out of 23, and 14th in problem-solving. Spots in prestigious US universities are highly sought-after. Yet higher education, once an effective way out of poverty in the US, isn’t anymore – at least not for lower-income and minority students. The authors quote studies showing, for example, that today 80% of white college students attend Barron’s Top 500 schools, while 75% of black and Latino students go to two-year junior colleges or open-admissions (not Top 500) schools. Poor students are also far less likely to complete a degree.
3. Internet speed and access
Rank of U.S.: 16th out of 34 countries
Broadband access has become essential for industry to grow and flourish. Yet in the US, penetration is low andspeed relatively slow versus wealthy nations—thought thecost of internet is among the highest ($0.04 per megabit per second in Japan, for example, versus $0.53 in the US). The problem may be too much concentration and too little competition in the industry, the authors suggest.
4. Health
Rank of U.S.: 33rd out of 145 countries
When it comes to its citizens’ health, in countries that are home to at least one million people, the US ranks below many other wealthy countries. More American women also are dying during pregnancy and childbirth, the authors note, quoting a Lancet study. For every 100,000 births in the United States, 18.5 women die. Saudi Arabia and Canada have half that maternal death rate.
5. People living below the poverty line
Rank of U.S.: 36th out of 162 countries, behind Morocco and Albania
Officially, 14.5% of Americans are impoverished — 45.3 million people–according to the latest US Census data.That’s a larger fraction of the population in poverty than Morocco and Albania (though how nations define poverty varies considerably). The elderly have Social Security, with its automatic cost-of-living adjustments, to thank, the authors say, for doing better: Few seniors (one in 10) are poor today versus 50 years ago (when it was one in three). Poverty is also down among African Americans. Now America’s poor are more often in their prime working years, or in households headed by single mothers.
6. Children in poverty
Rank of U.S.: 34th out of 35 countries surveyed
When UNICEF relative poverty – relative to the average in each society—the US ranked at the bottom, above only Romania, even as Americans are, on average, six times richer than Romanians. Children in all of Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan fare better.
7. Income inequality
Rank of U.S.: Fourth highest inequality in the world.
The authors argue that the most severe inequality can be found in Chile, Mexico, Turkey — and the US. Citing the Gini coefficient, a common inequality metric, and data from Wall Street Journal/Mercer Human Resource Consulting, they say this inequality slows economic growth, impedes youths’ opportunities, and ultimately threatens the nation’s future (an OECD video explains). Worsening income inequality is also evident in the ratio of averageCEO earnings to average workers’ pay. That ratio went from 24:1 in 1965 to 262:1 in 2005.
8. Prison population
Rank of U.S.: First out of 224 countries
More than 2.2 million Americans are in jail. Only China comes close, the authors write, with about 1.66 million.
9. Life satisfaction
Rank of U.S.: 17th out of 36 countries
The authors note Americans’ happiness score is only middling, according to the OECD Better Life Index. (The index measures how people evaluate their life as a whole rather than their current feelings.) People in New Zealand, Finland, and Israel rate higher in life satisfaction. A UN report had a similar finding.
10. Corruption
Rank of U.S.: 17th out of 175 countries.
Barbados and Luxembourg are ahead of the US when it comes to citizens’ perceptions of corruption. Americans view their country as “somewhat corrupt,” the authors note, according to Transparency International, a Berlin-based nonprofit. In a separate survey of American citizens, many said politicians don’t serve the majority’s interest, but are biased toward corporate lobbyists and the super-rich. “Special interest groups are gradually transforming the United States into an oligarchy,” the authors argue, “concerned only about the needs of the wealthy.”
11. Stability
Rank of U.S.: 20th out of 178 countries.
The Fragile States Index considers factors such as inequality, corruption, and factionalism. The US lags behind Portugal, Slovenia and Iceland.
12. Social progress index
Rank of U.S.: 16th out of 133 countries
A broad measure of social well-being, the index comprises 52 economic indicators such as access to clean water and air, access to advanced education, access to basic knowledge, and safety. Countries surpassing the US include Ireland, the UK, Iceland, and Canada.
“If America’s going to be great again, we’ve got to start fixing things,” Friedman said.
Just for the heck of it, I am going to add a couple more…
Economic Mobility
“If you work hard you can achieve”…A poor kid has a better chance of achieving reaching the higher economic levels in other countries. The US lag is getting worse.
The following chart only compares the 27 industrialized countries. The US actually drops to 17th if you include Second World Countries.
Infant Mortality
Your baby has a 2.5 times greater chance of dying prenatal, or postnatal covering the first year of life than in Japan or Finland. For black mothers that is about 4 times greater.
The US ranks 27th of the 27 Industrialized Nations… Comparing it to all nations we are about 40th behind Cuba.
Suicide Rate
America is in the middle of the pack. However the rate of suicides in the US exceeds that of Libya, the Central African Republic, Brazil, and China to name a few. Mental health care in the US is seriously lacking.
Racial Discrimination and Violence Against Minorities (Ethnic or racial)
Educational Attainment
Guess what guys…America has dropped to 16th.
Face i…This country would be far better off deporting Republicans than Illegal Immigrants.
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