Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Monday March 19 2018, @09:40AM   Printer-friendly
from the not-clapping-for-us dept.

Common Dreams reports

Nordic countries with strong social welfare structures fared best, as they have in previous years, on the United Nation's annual accounting of global happiness--while the United States finished in 18th place, down four spots from 2017.

Finland was ranked number one on the World Happiness Report, compiled by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The country was joined by other Scandinavian nations--Norway, Denmark, and Iceland--in the top four, followed by Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, and Australia.

[...] the United States finished in 18th place, down four spots from 2017.

[...] The drop followed President Donald Trump's first year in office, during which the majority of Americans reported disapproval of the country's top elected official, and hundreds of thousands protested his regressive policies on immigration, women's reproductive rights, and gun control--as well as widespread concerns that the president is blatantly profiting off his position in public office.

The past year also saw reports of America's widening wealth gap, with the average upper middle-class household holding 75 times more wealth than low-income families.

Trump's tax law, pushed through Congress despite the disapproval of 53 percent of Americans, only heightened the perception of many people that the government is intent on transferring wealth to the richest Americans while the majority live paycheck to paycheck.

The World Happiness Report ranks countries according to per capita GDP, social support, life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and corruption levels.

Life expectancy in the U.S. dropped for the second year in a row in 2017, with researchers suggesting that the opioid addiction epidemic and inequality are related to the decline.

Reigning political ideologies in the highest-ranking nations contrast sharply with that of the U.S., noted the researchers.

The countries in the top 10 tend to "believe that what makes people happy is solid social support systems, good public services, and even paying a significant amount in taxes for that", said [Jeffrey D. Sachs, editor of the World Happiness Report].


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @12:16PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @12:16PM (#654831)

    In Libya slave trade has returned...

    https://www.google.se/search?q=slave+trade+libya [google.se]

    ...due to the imposition of shari'ah in all its pre-medieval glory by IS-related militia...

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +1  
       Informative=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   1  
  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @01:00PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @01:00PM (#654857)

    For how this works out, see Saudi Arabia. Lots and lots of black slaves were imported from Africa, but you don't see Saudi Arabia turning black. This is because it has always been normal to protect the slave owner's family: the slaves were castrated.

    Think how differently US history would have turned out if we'd done that. If done from the start, the price of shipping slaves would have increased costs and naturally put slavery out of business. If done later, for example around the Civil War perhaps as part of a compromise deal, we'd still be a country mostly without black people.