This might not be the best thread to post this:
Annual Prosperity index (by a London think tank on a variety of measures.)
Norway 1 (only nation in top ten for all metrics), Canada 6 (highest personal freedom score), US 11 (highest health but 33rd for safety and security.)
With our consumer goods culture in the States, I don’t think we would accept the compromises that the Norwegians make. Small old houses, twenty year old cars, high taxes and limited take home pay.
I like these surveys though, I think it’s interesting to look at what societies prioritize.
I put that story here mostly to illustrate how abysmal the US ranks for safety and security.
As far as Norway, I can’t say if your description is accurate or not, but I agree that the US isn’t going to adopt socialistic models anytime soon.
I also find them interesting in their own right though.
Timex
3890
Huh, so we beat most of the European nations overall, and beat all of them in the health index.
I thought our health was THE BLURST.
Strange. Tim’s Inaugural Prosperty Index has the US 1st for safety and security.
Reference image of the think tank:
I guess Obamacare is working out pretty well after all. ;)
I’m looking at the country profiles and I’m trying to figure out why the US is #1 compared to, for instance, Canada. There are 17 indicators for “Health,” and the US beat Canada in … only 3 of them, while tying in 1. And yet the US is #1 while Canada is at #11? Odd.
http://www.prosperity.com/#!/country/USA
http://www.prosperity.com/#!/country/CAN
ShivaX
3894
American Exceptionalism, obviously.
sigh - of course. Well, I obviously didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express, last night.
Timex
3896
I think it would be awesome if we got top ranking because we spend the most money.
Health expenditure per person: 9146 Global Ag 1377.8
Looks that way. Sorry for the thread derail.
ShivaX
3898
Seriously? Most money spent = best?
Holy shit, that’s just amazing.
Timex
3899
I don’t think that’s actually what they are doing, but it’s possible, and funny as shit if they did.
Wow… that’s some kind of special.
ShivaX
3901
Pretty sure it’s at least a factor, otherwise why list it at all? And since we’re pushing 8 times the average, that must mean it’s the best!
In their defense, that money does buy something. We tend to use the latest and greatest - when other countries would rely on cheaper solutions.
There’s little else they can be doing by looking at the numbers. There’s a bunch of subjective questions which is a weird thing to assessing overall health (satisfied with the beauty of the environment, satisfied with the quality of the water, satisfied with personal health) when you could have objective measurements, and given those numbers in the webpage the US loses (by very little) to most other developed countries in life expectancy adjusted, life expectancy unadjusted and infant mortality rate (by a lot).
But you guys blow us out of the water in personal expenditure!
Given that they are giving us the data they are using, unless somebody can bring a more reasonable interpretation, I would say they are indeed saying more expense = better health.
Either that or they are using data not in the country profiles.
Ten years ago, at least, the differences in infant mortality rates came down almost entirely to different reporting standards for live births. The US and Canada are much more likely to report a live birth for very premature babies (weight < 500g, approximately 24 weeks, near the edge of viability) than most European countries.
For instance, birth registration is required for all live births that satisfy the WHO’s definition of live birth in Canada, England and Wales, and the United States, whereas countries such as the Czech Republic, France, and the Netherlands specify limits based on some combination of gestational age (for example, at least 22 weeks), birth weight (for example, at least 500 g), or survival (for example, any live birth irrespective of birth weight that survives the first 24 hours after birth) (web appendix table C). Procedural differences due to longstanding traditions, social attitudes, and local incentives (including financial remuneration of healthcare providers) also probably dictate whether an infant at the borderline of viability is registered. Birth registration requirements for stillbirths also vary widely; countries such as the United States define stillbirths as fetal deaths delivered at or after 20 weeks’ gestation, whereas Canada (at least 20 weeks’ gestation or at least 500 g birth weight), England and Wales (at least 24 weeks’ gestation), and Sweden (at least 28 weeks’ gestation) have different criteria. Although observed differences in the proportion of live births and stillbirths at extremely low birth weight and very early gestation may reflect true between-country differences, our study suggests they are more likely to be the result of the variation in birth registration practices.
Ah, That makes a lot of sense. I could not figure out why this was so. I could see places where differences in life expectancy (adjusted) would make sense, but not infant mortality rate, not to that level.
Gun owner gets real mad at neighbor, shoots him in the head. But, he has mental issues and was drunk, so the real problem is mental health. Also his neighbor probably deserved it, they were hanging out right on the limits of the property, just to get the old guy riled up. Link.
