Social Mobility Index

[samhill]

I like Canada the country, but our western non representation in government is unacceptable.
The USA is the greatest country I believe, but I know little of Scotland where I might consider. Switzerland I know a little of, but very difficult to move there.
Trump is disparaged by much of the media, and lately in the Washington Post article by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, as Trump criticizes his military commanders for US military presence throughout the world, which costs America trillions of dollars, and the U.N. and NATO pay very little.
The generals of course favour their participation as it makes them important. Trump believes other countries should pony up, and the article makes him out to be ignorant and foolish, and despised by the military leaders.
Money is important to Trump, I tend to agree.

[chuckChuck]

There are lots of examples of Republican states working hard to actively de register and discourage poor minority voters who will mostly vote democratic.

The judicial system is very politicized.

Religion plays a big role in US politics. The christian fundamentalists want to impose their numerous and particular religious values on everyone.

Big money rules in US politics and the regular folks just get to go along for the ride.

[jazz]

Norways the richest by an accounting trick and socialism. State ownership of resources.

“One reason that we score so high can be that (Norway’s) oil wealth is counted two times,” Almås told NRK, both as a resource and as a factor responsible for relatively high incomes. She also cautioned that “in other countries with a lots of oil, but where the resource is privately owned without such a high degree of taxation as in Norway, oil resources won’t influence personal income to such a degree.”

Oil is owned by the state, taxed the shit out of it and redistributed to the people.

Not comparable with the US or Canada.

[chuckChuck]

Don't forget they have a trillion dollar heritage fund from oil to set them up for many generations to come.

Whats your excuse for Switzerland?

[blackpowder]

This conversation is ridiculous.
After Canada then the US. Only maybe Oz. Any where else, your just talking out your ass. Unless you came from a big urban center.
I encourage my kids to go south if they get a chance.

[dmlfarmer]

Lets deconstruct that index.

Heath, all the medical breakthroughs and research are discovered and pioneered in the US.

Education, best universities and tech schools on the planet all in the US

Technology, every high tech company worth talking about domiciled in US

Work, US unemployment half of any other country on that list. GDP a full point above all of them too.

Protection, well US military wins that hands down.

Institutions, after seeing the dictatorship at work here in Canada and the EU and China, is there any system on the planet better than the US? Not a chance. Power distributed right to the local level. Congress checks the president, state level election of reps, local circuit courts can over turn presidential legislation, the reviews and scrutiny and checks on power are stunning.

Norway? Switzerland? Give me a fing break.

Jazz do you have any idea what social mobility means?

And not just Jazz, but from comments here it is obvious than most of you do not understand the concept of social mobility. It is not what country makes the most discoveries, or has the most companies. It is a measurement of the ability for someone to be able to improve their life. It compares the ability for a middle class person to become wealthy, or a person who is born poor to rise up to the middle class or more. It says a person in Canada has more opportunities to better themselves than US citizens.

You talk about medical breakthroughs are better in the US. What good are they if someone cannot afford to visit a doctor or buy the drugs in the US because they have no health insurance, or affordable insurance or they are born with a condition that makes them uninsurable, or they have to declare bankruptcy to cover the health care bills of a loved one. In a Commonwealth Fund study in 2014, the US actually ranked last out of 11 industrialize nations in health care. "Despite having the most expensive health care system, the United States ranks last overall among 11 industrialized countries on measures of health system quality, efficiency, access to care, equity, and healthy lives, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. The other countries included in the study were Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand Norway, Sweden Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. While there is room for improvement in every country, the U.S. stands out for having the highest costs and lowest performance—the U.S. spent $8,508 per person on health care in 2011, compared with $3,406 in the United Kingdom, which ranked first overall.

You claim the education is the best in the world. By what standard? Certainly not if you look at the PISA test scores which track the testing of 15 year old students around the world in math, science and reading. Canada ranks 8th in the PISA scores, the US is 25th in the world. http://factsmaps.com/pisa-2018-worldwide-ranking-average-score-of-mathematics-science-reading/

Business Insider states: "The US now ranks 27th in the world for its levels of healthcare and education, according to a new study " https://www.businessinsider.com/us-ranks-27th-for-healthcare-and-education-2018-9 https://www.businessinsider.com/us-ranks-27th-for-healthcare-and-education-2018-9

I could provide real stats contesting the technology, work and protection too too. Great motherhood and apple pie statements, but not true except as a military power. But the military does not protect US citizens against gun violence where US ranks 10th in world for firearm related deaths (Canada 33). Protection is more than military.

[blackpowder]

And that is where stats end and a belief system begins.

[jazz]

It says a person in Canada has more opportunities to better themselves than US citizens.

Go check how many millionaires and billionaires are in the world and find out how many live in the US.

Living under socialized spending masking enormous taxation and subsidized central planning is not bettering your lot in life as far as I am concerned.

[dmlfarmer]

Go check how many millionaires and billionaires are in the world and find out how many live in the US.

Living under socialized spending masking enormous taxation and subsidized central planning is not bettering your lot in life as far as I am concerned.

Jazz you should take your own advice. Just checked billionaires numbers and found US ranks 13th when you consider the number of billionaires as a percentage of the country's population. Those terrible social democracies that you belittle all the time - Norway, Sweden, Switerland, and Iceland all have more billionaires on a population percentage basis.

[rumrocks]

Sometimes in European countries which have been around a little longer, wealth has had time to grow longer from one generation to the next, compared to a relatively new country such as the U.S or Canada with less generations.

You can't beat being born into wealth, it's less work. Right Justin.