Here's an interesting bit:Norway is best place to live, China moves up: UN. Of course it is from the UN so...
Seriously, it is a good one for all the "patriots" who keep commenting: "Name one country better than ours!". Now you can name 12.
Norway takes the number one spot in the annual United Nations human development index released Monday but China has made the biggest strides in improving the well-being of its citizens.
Aha! There's the flaw. Its all about the well being of the citizens. Our fat cats are still very happy. Read on for more.
Having lived and worked abroad every seventh year of my career, this is no news to me. Yet people here on Kos often insist that, as bad as we are, we are the best. Not by a long shot.
The index compiled by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) ranks 182 countries based on such criteria as life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
Norway, Australia and Iceland took the first three spots while Niger ranks at the very bottom, just below Afghanistan.
China moved up seven places on the list to rank as the 92nd most developed country due to improvements in education as well as income levels and life expectancy.
Colombia and Peru rose five spaces to rank 77th and 78th while France -- which was not part of the top 10 last year -- returns to the upper echelons by moving up three places to number 8.
The UNDP said the index highlights the grave disparities between rich and poor countries.
A child born in Niger can expect to live to just over 50, which is 30 years less than a child born in Norway. For every dollar a person earns in Niger, 85 dollars are earned in Norway.
How about disparities between rich and poor withing a country? We would not come out well there either. where are the good places?
The top ten countries listed on the index are: Norway, Australia, Iceland, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Switzerland and Japan.
I have lived and worked in France and if those others are even better I want to go there too! My short stays working in the Netherlands also verify this report from personal experience.
It is time to make our countrymen aware of the myth that they have been brainwashed with. We are also sinking in this listing as time has passed. I look for signs that change is on its way, but the change I see coming is for the worse, not for the better. The 30 years of right wing framing are showing to be very effective. Even with the bungling crew the republicans have, they are using it to their advantage. Our economy is being restored to the one that failed us. The idea that we would have sustainable new industries and jobs seems a fairytale. Meanwhile the three warring factions on the right have successfully come together around the theme that government is bad.
Have them look at this list. countries where government is far more dominant than in ours. countries where the government actually does its job of serving and protecting its people. Wake up America before it is too late! Or is it too late already?