According to the Social Progress Index, we rank 16th behind countries such as Canada, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, Germany and you get the idea.
For our purposes, the index defines social progress as
the capacity of a society to meet the basic human needs of its citizens, establish the building blocks that allow citizens and communities to enhance and sustain the quality of their lives, and create the conditions for all individuals to reach their full potential.
As Leftover — who sent the links — says, the U.S. ranks No. 1 in gross domestic product by every measure we acknowledge. Yet we’re No. 16 in the important stuff?
Here’s more on the people behind the index.
Dating Jesus 
The US ranks first in overall GDP according to the IMF, The UN, the World Bank and the CIA World Factbook. United States ranking on GDI, (gross domestic income) and GDP per capita can vary according to those same sources. Which doesn’t change the fact that judging progress based on a purely economic approach, (GDP, GDI or GDP per capita), does not accurately reflect how our economy is performing on a social level.
I’m sorry I didn’t make that clearer.
Well, you have now. And thank you.
Some of the variables that contribute to our #16 ranking:
–30th in life expectancy
–38th in child mortality rate
–55th in maternal mortality rate
–41st in homicide rate (30th in overall personal safety)
–74th in ecosystem sustainability
–81st in suicide rate
What’s wrong with this picture?
A whole lot?
Yup.
These data don’t indicate progress. They indicate decline.
I’ve tried to argue these facts a couple if times, but the right wing response always comes down to 2nd Amendment, personal responsibility, or it’s irrelevant. Like the Great Watchmakers, the Founding Fathers wound up the clock and walked away. In this world view, Real Americans owe nothing to the past or to the future.
“… the right wing response always comes down to 2nd Amendment,…”
April 13, 2015: OHIO BOY, 3, PICKS UP GUN IN HOME, KILLS 1-YEAR-OLD
CLEVELAND – Police in Cleveland say a 3-year-old boy picked up an unattended gun inside a home and it went off, shooting a 1-year-old boy in the head and killing him.
Cleveland police Chief Calvin Williams told reporters gathered outside the home after the shooting Sunday afternoon that investigators are trying to determine where the gun came from.
Williams sad at least one adult was home when the shooting happened.
At least one adult was home when the shooting happened…..