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Thread: U.S. Is No Longer Among the 10 Most Prosperous Countries; Norway, Canada, Australia lead

  1. #1

    U.S. Is No Longer Among the 10 Most Prosperous Countries; Norway, Canada, Australia lead

    Ten countries have now become more prosperous than the United States. The U.S. is ranked No. 11 in the latest annual Prosperity Index, which was released this week by the Legatum Institute, an international think tank based in London.

    The index ranks 142 countries overall and in eight categories:
    The economy
    Entrepreneurship and opportunity
    Governance
    Education
    Health
    Safety and security
    Personal freedom
    Social capital

    The Legatum Institute states that its index is unique in that it's based on both income and well-being: Prosperity is more than just the accumulation of material wealth, it is also the joy of everyday life and the prospect of an even better life in the future.

    Norway came in No. 1 overall for the seventh consecutive year. According to a Legatum press news release: Norway comes out on top due the freedom it offers its citizens, the quality of its healthcare system and social bonds between its people.

    The Scandinavian country had its highest ranking in the social capital category (No. 2), with 94 percent of people saying they can rely on friends and family in times of need. It had its lowest rankings in the safety and security category (No. 8) and the governance category (No. 8).

    Overall, the United States fell one spot this year. Its highest ranking was in the health category (No. 1) and its lowest ranking was in the safety and security category (No. 33).

    Nathan Gamester, director of the Prosperity Index at the Legatum Institute, states in the news release: "The Prosperity Index tells us that human progress goes beyond economics. Norway and other countries at the top of the Index provide opportunity and freedom to their citizens, access to quality healthcare and education, and provide safe environments for people to flourish in.

    "By contrast, those countries or regions of the world where people feel unsafe, where they are forced to flee from their homes, and where the education and healthcare systems are failing do not provide prosperity to their citizens."

    The countries that made the top 10 based on their overall scores this year are:
    Norway
    Switzerland
    Denmark
    New Zealand
    Sweden
    Canada
    Australia
    Netherlands
    Finland
    Ireland

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-no-l...203045054.html


    The U.S. is number 1 in health??????? That must be a typo.

  2. #2
    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    Hey, all I know is that over all these years, living my life, I wasn't aware the U.S. was falling out of the top 10 of the most prosperous countries. So that's just a statistic that hasn't made any difference in my quality of life, so who cares where it ranks. Still the best country to live in. :)

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    * Toxic Troll - Negative Nancy Farm Truck's Avatar
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    Yeah, these other countries are getting billions in aid from the US... no wonder they are going up and we are going down!

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    Frozen Chosen A.J.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fuego View Post
    Hey, all I know is that over all these years, living my life, I wasn't aware the U.S. was falling out of the top 10 of the most prosperous countries. So that's just a statistic that hasn't made any difference in my quality of life, so who cares where it ranks. Still the best country to live in. :)
    Canada's better.

    :curtsey:

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    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by A.J. View Post
    Canada's better.

    :curtsey:
    Yeah, I knew that was coming.

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    Frozen Chosen A.J.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fuego View Post
    Yeah, I knew that was coming.

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by njtom View Post
    U.S. Is No Longer Among the 10 Most Prosperous Countries; Norway, Canada, Australia lead
    I dunno about that...what I have seen is that those countries are among the most expensive to live in in terms of taxes, housing, groceries, gasoline, etc.

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    Resident Chocolate Monster Lista's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by A.J. View Post
    Canada's better.

    :curtsey:
    If you like freezing your tuckus off.

  10. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by krystian View Post
    I dunno about that...what I have seen is that those countries are among the most expensive to live in in terms of taxes, housing, groceries, gasoline, etc.
    Taxes are definitely higher, but the residents receive significantly greater benefits, including free or heavily-subsidized health care, education (including college), and child care.

    Many Americans spend 10% or more of their annual income on health care: insurance premiums, expenses prior to the deductible being reached, and co-payments after deductible has been reached. Also, many young Americans go heavily into debt to pay their college tuition. And many Americans spend a significant chunk of their income on child care. In the other countries mentioned in the article, those expenses are much lower. So, you pay more in taxes, but you pay less for other expenses.

  11. #10
    We have 330,000,000 people and our demographics would never, ever, in a billion years, support the society you and George Soros dream of. Our inner cities and the social chaos that is very prevalent aren't in existence to near the degree in Europe that it is here, in hundreds of places here. It's a nice thought, but it's not reality. If half the populace isn't working and contributing to the tax base, the socialist utopian dream is just that.

    I do not understand why socialists don't understand this. They point to EuropeEuropeEurope, pretending that our demographics are anything like those countries.

    Quote Originally Posted by njtom View Post
    Taxes are definitely higher, but the residents receive significantly greater benefits, including free or heavily-subsidized health care, education (including college), and child care.

    Many Americans spend 10% or more of their annual income on health care: insurance premiums, expenses prior to the deductible being reached, and co-payments after deductible has been reached. Also, many young Americans go heavily into debt to pay their college tuition. And many Americans spend a significant chunk of their income on child care. In the other countries mentioned in the article, those expenses are much lower. So, you pay more in taxes, but you pay less for other expenses.

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