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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, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @08:44PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @08:44PM (#655112)

    If you're going to mention that place, you should have included Alaska.
    As with Venezuela, the petroleum beneath their feet is considered part of "the commonwealth".
    Alaska Permanent Fund [wikipedia.org]
    Oh, and don't forget to mention the "communist" governor who oversaw that.
    Y'know, Sarah Palin.

    China

    That was a place you picked??
    In a comment where you used the word "socialism"??
    While the gov't is Authoritarian[1], China is extremely Capitalist.
    The way gov't and business are intertwined is almost to the level of USA.
    ...with concentration of wealth being the goal in both cases.

    [1] ...especially with Xi having just effectively declared himself Dictator for Life.

    Nazi Germany

    Fascism, where the Oligarchs completely own the gov't, is where USA (and much of the world) is headed.
    Studying the post-WWI decades should be something everyone is doing.
    We are getting a repeat of that and many are not noticing the similarities.

    Russia, having followed USA's Neoliberal/Oligarchical boilerplate after Drunky Yeltsin then Spineless Gorbachev allowed things to collapse, would be a better example.

    N.B. After WWII, under the USAian occupation, West Germany followed the Nordic model (strong unions; a strong social safety net) and today Germany is VERY successful.
    ...while in 1947, via a GOP-majority Congress, the Oligarchs gutted USA's unions via Taft-Hartley.
    ...and the "pro-labor" Dumbocrats have never clawed that back.

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

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