Cross posted at
ProgressivePolitics
On many quality of life issues, including the quality of education, health care, the environment, the general public seems to believe that the United States is near the top relative to other countries. Where does the United States really stand? You may be surprised.
As I read an article in this morning's Washington Post entitled,
"In Finland's Footsteps: If We're So Rich and Smart, Why Aren't We More Like Them?" I began to ponder the United States' position relative to the rest of the world, particularly in terms of the quality of our health care and educational systems. It is an excellent question, "why aren't we more like them?" and one that has a number of complex answers, from physical size, to cultural makeup, to political history, and on and on. But I believe that there is one thing that keeps us from making the necessary reforms and improvements to become more like countries that rank very high on quality of life measures, and that is the misperception commonly held in this country that the United States is at the top, or at least near the top, in rankings of education, health care, and environmental quality, and that poverty is not truly an issue in this country. This misguided contentment with a status quo that is far less rose-colored than many people think establishes a natural satisfaction and impedes the acceptance of reform.
Comparisons have always been an effective way to draw people's attention to certain problem areas, particularly when they see that they are falling behind other groups or states or regions or, in this case, countries. For this reason I thought that I would do some quick research and find out exactly where the United States stands in relation to other countries using measures of the quality of life, health care and education quality, poverty, environmental quality, the prison population, and government corruption. As you will see, we are not doing well, but perhaps, if utilized aggressively and properly, these statistics can be used to spur the acceptance progressive reforms in education, health care, and in other areas that affect our collective quality of life.
Potential frame: (that I believe ties in nicely with an economic populist argument that attacks the selfishness of those who would seek to avoid the necessary investment in human capital) it is shameful that in a nation of our resources we rank near the bottom of all industrialized countries in so many of these areas. These numbers don't lie.
Quality of Life
The Economist Quality of Life Index - the United States ranks 13th in total quality of life, even though we have the highest GDP and the fourth highest GDP per capita.
United Nations Human Development Index - The United State ranks 8th overall. As recently as 1990 the United States was ranked 1st.
Poverty
Percentage of Population in Poverty - the United States ranks 27th overall, with over 17 percent of our population below the poverty line (50% of median income), which also makes the US the last among the 17 OECD countries. (Human Development Index)
Health Care
Performance of Health Care System - the United States ranks 37th of 191 countries in health care system performance, last among industrialized countries, although we spend 13.1% of our GDP, or $4,180 annually per capita, on health care, which is more than any other industrialized country. (World Health Organization)
On a related note, in this country we have seen health insurance premiums experience double-digit rate increases for four consecutive years, five times greater than both inflation and wage increases.
Women's Reproductive Health - the United States ranks 15th in women's reproductive health, which puts it below Singapore. (Population Action International)
Life Expectancy - the United States ranks 27th of 28 countries in life expectancy at birth, which puts us behind Barbados. (Human Development Index)
Infant mortality - United States ranks 36th, with 6.63 deaths per 1,000 live births, which gives us a higher infant mortality rate than Portugal, Cuba, Aruba, and San Marino.
Education
Fundamental Literacy Skills - the US ranks 12th of 18 countries with 20.7% of adults lacking functional literacy skills. (Human Development Index)
High School Graduation - the US ranks 10th with a total of only 87 percent of U.S. adults ages 25 to 34 having finished high school, putting the country behind such nations as South Korea, Norway, the Czech Republic and Japan. (OECD)
Educational Achievement - the United States ranks 18th with 16.2 percent of 15-year-olds falling below international benchmarks, compared with Japan at 2.2 percent, Canada at 5 percent, Britain at 9.4 percent, and France at 12.6 percent, all of this while spending more per student ($10,871) than any other country. (Unicef, 2002)
Environment
Environmental Sustainability - the US ranks 51st of 142 nations in environmental sustainability. (Columbia University Environmental Sustainability Index).
Government
Government Corruption - Government in the United States ranks as the 17th least corrupt country in the world, with the most recent perception indicating that it is becoming more corrupt. (Transparency International)
Prison Population
Prison Population Rate - the United States has the highest prison population rate in the world (686 per 100,000 of the national population), followed by the Cayman Islands (664), Russia (638), and several former Soviet countries.