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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].


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  • (Score: 1, Disagree) by Phoenix666 on Monday March 19 2018, @12:40PM (8 children)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Monday March 19 2018, @12:40PM (#654844) Journal

    Scandinavia is coasting along in the security envelope created by the US and NATO. Their relative national security is higher than what it ought to be, given their level of defense spending. That is a happy historical accident for them. It won't last, because such things never do.

    So while it's nice for them, and they should enjoy it, the rest of us should not infer that they are wiser or more enlightened than the rest of us.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Thexalon on Monday March 19 2018, @02:57PM (4 children)

    by Thexalon (636) on Monday March 19 2018, @02:57PM (#654929)

    There are good reasons to doubt that European's safety depends on the US. If you treat the EU as a single military (not unreasonable, because there are mutual defense pacts and such), they have:
    - The third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Many of those nukes are French and British, not American.
    - 4 carrier groups, 21 nuclear submarines, and plenty of other naval vessels.
    - 2000 fighters and bombers, and all the other elements of a modern air force.
    - 7400 tanks, 9000 artillery pieces, 780 helicopters, and 400,000 active ground troops.

    All of this makes them a pretty formidable fighting force if it ever came down it. Europe isn't protected by the US as much as it's protected by France, the UK, Germany, and Italy.

    And as far as the history goes, the Finns managed to beat the Soviets back in the Winter War. They're quite proud of that.

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Monday March 19 2018, @04:41PM (3 children)

      by Grishnakh (2831) on Monday March 19 2018, @04:41PM (#654984)

      Europe isn't protected by the US as much as it's protected by France, the UK, Germany, and Italy.
      And as far as the history goes, the Finns managed to beat the Soviets back in the Winter War. They're quite proud of that.

      Yeah, and don't forget what happens when Germany gets into a warlike mood and cranks up its war machine. They're currently one of the biggest manufacturing nations on the planet, unlike "some" countries which have been busy outsourcing all their high-tech manufacturing overseas... They already build world-class tanks and (between them and the French) fighter planes; if they really wanted to, they could probably easily ramp up production of this stuff, unlike the US which seems to have no end of trouble getting their defense contractors to build working aircraft these days. Oh yeah, which countries produce the best rifles for infantry use? That would be Germany (H&K), and Belgium (FN Herstal) (I'd also say Switzerland with SIG but they're not part of the EU and are neutral.) The US isn't even buying US guns any more, they're moving the US military over to European ones because the US ones suck.

      • (Score: 1) by nekomata on Monday March 19 2018, @07:35PM (2 children)

        by nekomata (5432) on Monday March 19 2018, @07:35PM (#655076)

        Two things, SIG belongs to the Germans now. And you give the AR15 platform too little credit. It's a rock solid battle proven gun. If other guns improve upon it, we are talking very small gains (for very high costs).

        • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Monday March 19 2018, @08:06PM (1 child)

          by Grishnakh (2831) on Monday March 19 2018, @08:06PM (#655099)

          The M1 Garand was a good gun at one time too, but it's obsolete. The AR15 platform is being abandoned by the US military now, as they're moving to European guns that are decades more modern. The European militaries of course don't use AR15s, nor does almost anyone else. Even the Pakistanis have more modern rifles than the US now.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @11:16PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @11:16PM (#655181)

            US has a long and sad history of non-working rifles. The M16 used in Vietnam got a reputation for being a piece of shit with all the jamming while the opponents used the ever reliable AK-47.

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by tangomargarine on Monday March 19 2018, @04:16PM (1 child)

    by tangomargarine (667) on Monday March 19 2018, @04:16PM (#654967)

    Scandinavia is coasting along in the security envelope created by the US and NATO.

    You're obviously not aware of the history of Finland. And Sweden isn't in NATO, either.

    So...no.

    --
    "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
    • (Score: 1, Disagree) by Phoenix666 on Monday March 19 2018, @07:42PM

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Monday March 19 2018, @07:42PM (#655081) Journal

      Scandinavians have been enjoying their principled neutrality because the US and its European allies in NATO have been bearing the costs of keeping the Russians and others at bay. They are floating along in the security envelope projected by that alliance while not having to contribute to it themselves. They've taken all the resources and political and diplomatic capital they would otherwise have had to spend and used it on domestic issues instead. That is a happy historical accident they have taken advantage of, and good for them for having enjoyed their time as free riders. But it will not last forever. Neither does it mean that they are wiser or more enlightened than others lower down on the list of happy nations.

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @07:11PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @07:11PM (#655068)

    But, they're PROGRESSIVE! That makes them better than us, correct? That's what the left is constantly telling us.