Conservatives like to claim we're the greatest country in the world. Unfortunately the reality is that, while that was once so, more than 40 years of conservative policies enacted by Republicans and conservative Democrats have greatly diminished the United States:
http://www.salon.com/2016/01/30/wer..._boorish_american_exceptionalism_is_so_wrong/
... As the ancient philosopher Plato once observed, beliefs without justification arent knowledge, and justification requires evidence. So, lets take a gander at some statistics from various sources, beginning with the World Economic Forum (WEF), a Swiss not-for-profit foundation thats independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests. According to the WEF, the U.S. fares as follows relative to the rest of the world: 16th in quality of overall infrastructure, 22nd with respect to competition, 33rd in terms of public institutions, 34th in terms of ethics and corruption, 35th in terms of health, 58th in terms of primary education, 67th in terms of security and 73rd in terms of wasteful government spending.
In terms of the WEFs overall global competitiveness index, Switzerland comes in first with a value of 5.7 (out of 7), followed by Singapore with 5.6, and then the U.S., Finland, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands all tied with 5.5. So, not terrible overall yet conservatives would cringe at the thought that were tied with multiple socialist countries for third place. As it happens, though, the U.S. is far behind such countries according to other international rankings. Forbes, for example, ranks the U.S. as the 22nd best place for business in the world, with countries like Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Finland above us. Even the Heritage Foundations 2015 Index of Economic Freedom leaves the U.S. out of the top 10, placing Hong Kong, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland and Denmark at the top.
In terms of prosperity, a concept that includes factors like governance, education, health, personal freedom and the economy, the London-based Legatum Institute ranks the U.S. 11th, with Norway, Switzerland, Canada and Sweden being the most prosperous. Were also ranked 13th in the world with respect to social mobility, or the freedom for underprivileged individuals to climb the social ladder and become successful. The result is that, as Politifact confirmed in a Mostly True rating from 2013, its actually easier to obtain the American dream in Europe than it is in the U.S. Take a moment to let that sink in. According to the research that Politifact cites, Of the 10 countries studied, the United States had the strongest link between parents education and a childs economic, educational and socio-emotional outcomes more pronounced than in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Nordic countries, as well as Canada and Australia.
Social mobility is important in part because studies show that a lack of wealth does make poor people sadder, and social immobility prevents those without wealth from acquiring it. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the U.S. isnt among the top 10 happiest countries. According to the most recent data, were the 15th happiest country in the world, behind Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and our gentle neighbor to the north, Canada. Another factor relevant to happiness concerns the overall empowerment of women, who constitute 50.8 percent of the U.S. population. As the Global Gender Gap Index reports, countries like Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark score the best, while the U.S. ranks a shameful 20th. Yet another happiness factor relates to the prevalence of childhood poverty. Here the U.S. ranks 34th out of 35 countries considered by a recent study. Sadly, this is consistent with a 2014 report from Johns Hopkins that found that teenagers in Baltimore face poorer health and more negative outlooks than those in urban centers of Nigeria, India and China. Other studies have revealed that rates of PTSD among inner-city residents in America are as high or higher than [rates among] Iraq, Afghanistan or Vietnam veterans. ...
http://www.salon.com/2016/01/30/wer..._boorish_american_exceptionalism_is_so_wrong/
... As the ancient philosopher Plato once observed, beliefs without justification arent knowledge, and justification requires evidence. So, lets take a gander at some statistics from various sources, beginning with the World Economic Forum (WEF), a Swiss not-for-profit foundation thats independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests. According to the WEF, the U.S. fares as follows relative to the rest of the world: 16th in quality of overall infrastructure, 22nd with respect to competition, 33rd in terms of public institutions, 34th in terms of ethics and corruption, 35th in terms of health, 58th in terms of primary education, 67th in terms of security and 73rd in terms of wasteful government spending.
In terms of the WEFs overall global competitiveness index, Switzerland comes in first with a value of 5.7 (out of 7), followed by Singapore with 5.6, and then the U.S., Finland, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands all tied with 5.5. So, not terrible overall yet conservatives would cringe at the thought that were tied with multiple socialist countries for third place. As it happens, though, the U.S. is far behind such countries according to other international rankings. Forbes, for example, ranks the U.S. as the 22nd best place for business in the world, with countries like Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Finland above us. Even the Heritage Foundations 2015 Index of Economic Freedom leaves the U.S. out of the top 10, placing Hong Kong, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland and Denmark at the top.
In terms of prosperity, a concept that includes factors like governance, education, health, personal freedom and the economy, the London-based Legatum Institute ranks the U.S. 11th, with Norway, Switzerland, Canada and Sweden being the most prosperous. Were also ranked 13th in the world with respect to social mobility, or the freedom for underprivileged individuals to climb the social ladder and become successful. The result is that, as Politifact confirmed in a Mostly True rating from 2013, its actually easier to obtain the American dream in Europe than it is in the U.S. Take a moment to let that sink in. According to the research that Politifact cites, Of the 10 countries studied, the United States had the strongest link between parents education and a childs economic, educational and socio-emotional outcomes more pronounced than in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Nordic countries, as well as Canada and Australia.
Social mobility is important in part because studies show that a lack of wealth does make poor people sadder, and social immobility prevents those without wealth from acquiring it. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the U.S. isnt among the top 10 happiest countries. According to the most recent data, were the 15th happiest country in the world, behind Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and our gentle neighbor to the north, Canada. Another factor relevant to happiness concerns the overall empowerment of women, who constitute 50.8 percent of the U.S. population. As the Global Gender Gap Index reports, countries like Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark score the best, while the U.S. ranks a shameful 20th. Yet another happiness factor relates to the prevalence of childhood poverty. Here the U.S. ranks 34th out of 35 countries considered by a recent study. Sadly, this is consistent with a 2014 report from Johns Hopkins that found that teenagers in Baltimore face poorer health and more negative outlooks than those in urban centers of Nigeria, India and China. Other studies have revealed that rates of PTSD among inner-city residents in America are as high or higher than [rates among] Iraq, Afghanistan or Vietnam veterans. ...
