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America Is Not the Greatest Country on Earth. It’s No. 28

DA60

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'Every study ranking nations by health or living standards invariably offers Scandinavian social democracies a chance to show their quiet dominance. A new analysis published this week—perhaps the most comprehensive ever—is no different. But what it does reveal are the broad shortcomings of sustainable development efforts, the new shorthand for not killing ourselves or the planet, as well as the specific afflictions of a certain North American country.
Iceland and Sweden share the top slot with Singapore as world leaders when it comes to health goals set by the United Nations, according to a report published in the Lancet. Using the UN’s sustainable development goals as guideposts, which measure the obvious (poverty, clean water, education) and less obvious (societal inequality, industry innovation), more than 1,870 researchers in 124 countries compiled data on 33 different indicators of progress toward the UN goals related to health.
The massive study emerged from a decade long collaboration focused on the worldwide distribution of disease. About a year and a half ago, the researchers involved decided their data might help measure progress on what may be the single most ambitious undertaking humans have ever committed themselves to: survival. In doing so, they came up with some disturbing findings, including that the country with the biggest economy (not to mention, if we’re talking about health, multibillion-dollar health-food and fitness industries) ranks No. 28 overall, between Japan and Estonia.'

America Is Not the Greatest Country on Earth. It’s No. 28 - Bloomberg


Thoughts?
 
I don't care what the left-wing socialists think of the US, or any other country for that matter.
 

Skewed criteria to start, leads to skewed results.
 
I could care less what the rest of America is like anymore.

Just leave the Chesapeake alone, and I will be a happy camper.
 

Whelp, without us;

Iceland would probably be, at best, a floating airstrip for Nazi Germany

Singapore would be part of the tender embraces of the Japanese Empire

Sweden would be a Nazi or Soviet puppet

Andorra would have been annexed

The U.K. would have been starved into submission

Finland would have been caught between the Nazis and the Soviets for practically the rest of eternity, or at least until they both collapsed

Spain would still likely be Falangist

The Netherlands would be part of the Third Reich

Canada would be scared ****less

Australia would be even more scared ****less

Norway would be German occupied

Luxembourg wouldn't exist

Ireland would probably have drifted into the German camp

Malta would have bombed off the face of the earth

Germany would still be "Sieg Heil"-ing up and down half of Europe

Denmark would be occupied

Cyprus likely would have gone to hell in a hand basket even more than it already did.

Belgium would be German occupied

Switzerland would probably have been dismembered

Il Duce's successors would still be running Italy

Brunei would be Japanese

Portugal would either be part of Spain or still under the Estado Novo

Israel wouldn't exist

France would still be run from Vichy

Slovenia wouldn't exist

Greece would be occupied

Japan would still be fascist.

So....
 
Tigerace117 said:
Whelp, without us;


Australia would be even more scared ****less
Click to expand...

:roll:

What an idiotic comment and a charming way to describe your most loyal Allies down under.

I wonder how many people are aware that Australia is the only country to have served alongside the United States in every major conflict since WWII.
 
America should not look to the President to fix the problems within our own culture and lifestyle. We have 100% control over that despite our slow creep into a socialist central government. I hope a President Trump will be the beginning of the reversal of that but I do not see it as any duty or authority of the President or anybody else in government to order a healthy lifestyle. At least other than by setting a good example.
 
Serenity said:
:roll:

What an idiotic comment and a charming way to describe your most loyal Allies down under.

I wonder how many people are aware that Australia is the only country to have served alongside the United States in every major conflict since WWII.
Click to expand...

I don't what other way to describe "Imperial ****ing Japan knocking at the gates once again knocking at the gates, only this time they still have those carriers that were lost at Midway IRL and frankly have overrun everything they've come against" do you?
 
Serenity said:
:roll:

What an idiotic comment and a charming way to describe your most loyal Allies down under.

I wonder how many people are aware that Australia is the only country to have served alongside the United States in every major conflict since WWII.
Click to expand...

I'm grateful for having such allies. :2australi
 

Those little Scandinavian countries are about as big as some American suburbs. Carve out the posh suburbs of New York, Chicago, or LA and compare those to those countries and it would be more like apples to apples. One small, well off, and ethnically homogenous population center against another. I think America would come out pretty well.

Sweden is about to fall apart. That's how well they adapt to an ethnically inhomogenous population.
 

One thought is that such indexes can easily lead one to believe, what they are designed to. Take for instance the Swedes. Their position among the is egalitarian countries is not necessarily uncontrovercial and so clear cut as often said. It is not only the fact that our experience with social democracies is quite negative as they grow older. The country does not look as politically correct, when one looks under the rug. I have looked under many such rugs and checked the numbers in other European countries. I am not so well acquainted with Sweden as with other European countries, but the article did seem to make sense.
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2014/05/wealth-inequality-in-sweden.html

Be it as it may, there are other things in the underlying material to the Bloomberg article. The millenium goals are not really being so much achieved by charities and the UN. That is a nice story, but it is also beating the drum of those telling it. When you look at what has brought the billion out of destitution, one finds trade flows and a country that allows its population to buy, what it wants and does not punish poor countries for fixing the currency rate. The motor to bringing one country after the other out of poverty since 1948 has been the American approach.
 
Interesting how instead of facing our flaws and the fact that we need to really work on them, some people deflect big time by putting down the other countries or just blowing it off completely. No wonder we're at where we're at and probably won't be going up anytime soon.

My comment would be to use those countries as an example to see what's working so good for them and learn from it.
 
let someone else win the beauty contest, IMO. we should go back to being a country. the "greatest country ever" bull**** has led most other empires to ruin, unless they can pull out of it and make a good, sustainable country. we still have the global reserve currency. our job one should be making ourselves solid as an infrastructure and standard of living powerhouse. we also have to abandon the role of pro bono global police force. we should instead be focusing on replacing oil and building up our electrical grid even if it has to be done publicly.
 
Serenity said:
Fear not. Trumps going to make America great again. He even wears a hat that says so.
Click to expand...

Hillary, on the other hand, as brilliant as she always is, says that we will be "stronger together", we being us and all the sick scum invading the US from the south, carrying with them TB and a dozen other diseases, eradicated here long time ago.

To make that happen, she wants bridges, not walls. She even plans on the first day of her reign to remove the fence from the White House, fire all those mean guards with guns - you know, guns kill - and invite the TB-infected migrant children to live with her.

I think I will vote for her.
 

That has become the "American Way".

Don't try to improve ourselves, simply try to denigrate others. That's far easier.

Pointing fingers rather than look in mirrors. F__K YEAH BABY!!!!
 

None of which have a damned thing to do with the metrics used in the ranking.

Wow.
 

We are talking about America today. You are making America sound like some middle aged loser who peaked back when he was the quarterback of the varsity football team.
 

What has brought billions out of poverty since "1948", has been the ongoing policies of social democracy in Europe, the tradition of strong government/industry cooperation in east Asia, and (ironically) the quasi-communist government of China.

The US did very well with the more moderate form of capitalism practiced after WW2, and did indeed help others, as it was in a position to do so by being shielded from the destruction of the war by geography, and building up bombed out allies was in US long term strategic interests. But it is telling that today, as a far right mania gains ever more traction in America, numerous social indicators are dropping in relation to more moderate nations.

There is rhetoric and there is history. Take your pick of which ever you find more fun.
 

That is rather weak on economics.
 
Tanngrisnir said:
None of which have a damned thing to do with the metrics used in the ranking.

Wow.
Click to expand...

Wow indeed. For all the whining about America, without us none of those countries would have gotten to where they are today.
 
Serenity said:
:roll:

What an idiotic comment and a charming way to describe your most loyal Allies down under.

I wonder how many people are aware that Australia is the only country to have served alongside the United States in every major conflict since WWII.
Click to expand...



I am aware of this and thankful for it. We should always remember loyal allies and treat them well and with honor.



According to what I have read, though, I think it is true that Australia has serious concerns (the term "anxiety" was used in some articles I read) regarding China's influence-expansion and territorial claims, and while Australia has a very professional (if relatively small) military of its own, it is depending heavily on its alliance with the US and other Western nations to keep China from attempting to dominate it. At least, that is my understanding... correct me if I am wrong, it isn't something I've studied in great depth.
 
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