"I remember when America was first in everything"
from http://pureland.blogspot.com/ Robert Brady. He cites the latest rankings in quality of life from The Economist. Apparently, the United States was #2 in 2004 and is now #13 for 2005.
http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf
Then I thought about it. Although we are #2 in GDP per person, quality of life or getting that GDP has a high price. Plus the rash of radical weather we have had in the past year and the fact we are in a war has impacted many families. Speaking of families, our marriage stats aren't very good, our trade unions have hit a nose dive, healthcare costs and college costs are very high and limit people's choices. Time for community is short. On the irritation meter, you can't watch tv or listen to the radio without some political agenda being pushed.
I remember when America was first in everything too.
Lest you Canadians get a bit smug, your rating was #14.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
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1 comments:
Alright, I'll try not to be smug!
But seriously, I wonder about these kinds of numbers. I mean, what does a ranking actually mean? Ireland came out #1, but what would my own personal chance for a happy life there be? For instance, how likely is it that I would be able to afford land? Their marriage stats may be better, but last I heard, divorce was still illegal, so that would have some bearing on the situation. (Not that I'm looking for one, mind you!)
The weather you can't do much about, but if tv is annoying (and it DEFINITELY is), just don't watch! People in North America may have poor health overall, but the potential to be healthy, because of availability of decent quality food and water, is ever-present. People make stupid choices, and there's no allowance for that in the numbers as far as I can see.
Anyhow, I'd rather see numbers indicating personal freedoms and availability of resources than $$$ per person and other such stats. It would mean more, I think.
Sorry, I realize I went on a bit, but you really got me thinking with this one!
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