to work in precarious jobs with no union coverage
and no health care. Then they'll be desperate to buy
our Chinese-made crap.
Anyway, there may be other ways than the American one.
But they're just socialist losers, anyway. Leave them in
their deluded state. pffft!
Let's have a look: Bloomberg
U.S.
Prosperity Slides in Index That Ranks Norway No. 1
By Simon
Kennedy - Oct 30, 2012 12:01 AM
The
U.S. slid from the top ten most prosperous nations for the first time in a
league table which ranked three
Scandinavian nations the best for wealth and wellbeing.
The
U.S. slid from the top ten most prosperous nations for the first time in a
league table which ranked three Scandinavian nations the best for wealth and
wellbeing.
The
U.S. fell to 12th position from 10th in the Legatum Institute’s annual
prosperity index amid increased doubts about the health of its economy and
ability of politicians. Norway, Denmark and Sweden were declared the most
prosperous in the index, published in London today.
With
the presidential election just a week away, the research group said the
standing of the U.S. economy has deteriorated to beneath that of 19 rivals. The
report also showed that respect for the government has fallen, fewer Americans
perceive working hard gets you ahead, while companies face higher startup costs
and the export of high-technology products is dropping.
“As
the U.S. struggles to reclaim the building blocks of the American Dream, now is
a good time to consider who is best placed to lead the country back to
prosperity and compete with the more agile countries,” Jeffrey Gedmin, the
Legatum Institute’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The
six-year-old Legatum Prosperity Index is a study of wealth and wellbeing in 142
countries, based on eight categories
such as economic strength, education and governance. Covering 96 percent of the
world’s population, it is an attempt to broaden measurement of a nation’s
economic health beyond indicators such as gross domestic product.
The
Legatum Institute is the public policy research arm of the Legatum Group, a
Dubai-based private investment group founded in 2006 by New Zealand billionaire
Christopher Chandler.
Global
Prosperity
The
report shows that even amid the worst financial crisis since the Great
Depression, global prosperity has increased across all regions in the past four
years, although the sense of safety and security is decreasing amid tension in
the Middle East and fear of crime in Latin America.
Norway
and Denmark retained the pole positions they held last year in the overall
prosperity measure, while Sweden leapfrogged Australia and New Zealand into
third. Canada, Finland, the
Netherlands, Switzerland and Ireland rounded out the top ten. The Central
African Republic was ranked bottom.
In
its sub-indexes, Legatum named Switzerland the strongest economy and home to
the best system of governance. Denmark is the most entrepreneurial and New
Zealand has the best education, while health is best in Luxembourg and Iceland
is the safest. Canadians enjoy the most personal freedom and Norwegians have
the greatest social capital.
Hard
Work
With
President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney tussling for the
White House, Legatum said the U.S. economy declined two places from last year
to 20th. It found that 89 percent of Americans believe hard work produces
results, up from 88 percent last year, and the government’s approval rate
dropped to 39 percent from 42 percent.
Plagued
by the euro-area debt crisis, 24 out of 33 European nations have witnessed a
decline in their economic score since 2009, according to Legatum. On the
prosperity scale, Greece recorded the biggest drop in 2012, falling 10 places
since 2009 to 49th. Spain held on to 23rd place.
The
U.K remained 13th, one place ahead of Germany, and Legatum predicted it will
overtake the U.S. by 2014 as it scores well for entrepreneurship and
governance. Nevertheless, the status of its economy remains a weakness as it
slid five places to 26th on that score and job satisfaction is low.
Asian
Scores
In
Asia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan all ranked in the top ten for their economies
and the top 20 overall. So-called tiger cub economies Vietnam and Indonesia
also rose. Indonesia experienced the largest gain in prosperity of any country
since 2009, jumping 26 positions to 63rd.
Switzerland,
Norway and Singapore topped the economy sub- index, which measures satisfaction
with the economy and expectations for it, the efficiency of the financial
sector and foundations for growth. In a gauge of entrepreneurship, Denmark ran
ahead of Sweden and Finland for the strength of innovation and access to
opportunity.
Switzerland
also topped the rankings for best government. It was followed by New Zealand
and Denmark in a measure determined by the effectiveness and accountability of
lawmakers, the fairness of elections, the participation of people in the
political process and rule of law. The
highest marks for education went to New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
Luxembourg,
the U.S. and Switzerland were graded the best for health treatments and
infrastructure as well as preventative care and satisfaction with the service.
Iceland, Norway and Finland topped the chart for safety and security; Chad,
Congo and Afghanistan ranked the lowest on that index.
Canadians, New Zealanders and
Australians enjoy the most freedom and social tolerance, Legatum said. Norway, Denmark and Australia had the
highest scores for social capital as monitored by social cohesion and family
and community networks
