 |
| For further information go to: http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-0110828049/default.aspx The following is an excerpt from this text. © 2012, Christopher M. Dawson. All rights reserved. |
We the People are asked to believe that the United States of America is a land of exceptionalism, but social reality may not support that claim.
Are we really . . .
A
Land of Peace?
#1 – Greatest in military spending (equal to 43 percent of all
worldwide military spending)
#1 – Greatest purveyor (arms trader) of military weapons to
other nations (supplying over 39 percent of all military weapons sold)
#1 – More foreign interventions into the political affairs of
other nations since 1950
A
Land of Justice?
#1 – Highest rate of imprisonment of citizens of any country
in the world
#1 – Highest rate of imprisonment of minority races in the world
A
Land of Equal Opportunity?
#1 – Highest per capita income (of 19 OECD countries)
#1 – Overall rate of poverty (of 19 OECD countries)
#1 – Child poverty rate (of 19 OECD countries)
#1 – Persistent (over three years) poverty rate (of 19 OECD
countries)
#1 – Permanent poverty rate (of 19 OECD countries)
#2 – Worst income inequality (of 23 OECD countries)
#2 – Lowest social mobility (of 8 richest OECD countries)
#16 – Wage equality between men and women ( of 22 OECD
countries)
#17 – Opportunities for women in the workplace (of
58 countries World Economic Forum)
#39 – Worst income inequality worldwide (Gini index of 101
reporting countries)
#46 – Economic opportunities
for women (of 58 countries World Economic Forum)
#93 – Income equality worldwide (of 134
countries)
A
Land of Economic Strength?
#3 – Providing “efficiency enhancers” (Goods Market Efficiency, Labor Market Efficiency, Financial Market
Development, Technological Readiness, and Market Size) for global economic competitiveness
(of 142 nations —World Economic Forum)
#5 – Global economic competitiveness (of 142 nations—World
Economic Forum)
#6 – Addressing “Innovation
and Sophistication Factors” for global economic competitiveness ( of 142
nations—World Economic Forum)
#8 – Productivity of workforce (of 19 OECD countries)
#14 – Growth in average real compensation (of 19 OECD
countries)
#24 – Households (%) with personal computers (of 138 countries)
#36 – Meeting “Basic Requirements” (Institutions, Infrastructure, Macroeconomic Environment, Health and
Primary Education) for global economic competitiveness (of 142 nations—World
Economic Forum)
#76 – Mobile phone subscriptions/one hundred population (of
138 countries)
A
Land of Educational Opportunity?
#1 – Greatest average cost for tuition, fees, and room and
board at public colleges (of 22 OECD countries)
#1 – Highest dropout rate (failure to complete first degree)
among college enrollees (of 26 OECD countries)
#2 – Percentage of adults (twenty-four to sixty years of age)
who enrolled in college studies beyond secondary school level (of 31 OECD
countries)
#5 – Information technology network readiness (of 138
countries)
#8 – Educational attainment opportunities for women (of 58 countries World
Economic Forum)
#15 – Average performances of fifteen-year-olds in reading
(PISA scores—of 66 OECD countries)
#15 – Percentages of secondary
school graduates to the population at the typical age of graduation (of 25 OECD countries)
#19 – Individual usage of information technology (of 138
countries)
#23 – Average performances of fifteen-year-olds in science
(PISA scores—of 66 OECD countries)
#28 – Public expenditures on preprimary education as a
percentage of GDP (of 37 OECD countries)
#31 – Average performances of fifteen-year-olds
in mathematics (PISA scores—of 66 OECD countries)
#35 – Average enrollment rate in preschool educational programs
for ages three to four (of 40 OECD countries)
#52 – Quality of math and science education readiness for
information technology (of 138 countries)
A
Land of Medical Excellence?
#1 – Highest cost of medical care per person (of 30 OECD countries)
#1 – Highest health care cost as a percentage of GDP (of 30
OECD countries)
#1 – Only developed country besides South Africa not offering
national health care
#1 – Highest reported rate of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders
for its children in any country
#1 – Highest level of use and production of Ritalin on and for
children in any country
#1 – The only country besides New Zealand allowing direct to
consumer (DTC) advertising of pharmaceutical drugs.
#7 – All-type cancer death incidences per one hundred thousand
people (of 34 OECD countries)
#23 – Average life expectancy at birth—longevity (of 30 OECD countries)
#24 – Adult mortality rate (chances
of dying between ages fifteen and sixty years of age) (of 30 OECD countries)
#26 – Infant mortality rate (number
of children born who survive to one year of age per one thousand live births) (of
30 OECD countries)
#27 – Health adjusted life expectancy (of 30 OECD countries)
#37 – Health care service performance relative to its
given level of resources.
#39 – Infant mortality rate (number
of children born who survive to one year of age per one thousand live births) among
World Health Organization reporting countries
#42 – Health and
well-being for women (of 58
countries World Economic Forum)
#43 – Adult mortality rate (chances
of dying between ages fifteen and sixty years of age) among World Health Organization
reporting countries
#49 – Average life expectancy at birth—longevity (all
countries)
#52 – Number of physicians per one thousand population (201 countries)
#54 – Degree to
which financial contributions to health care systems are distributed fairly
across the population (of 54 OECD countries)
#58 – Percentage of one-year-olds receiving the DPT3
vaccine
#87 – Percentage one-year-olds receiving the hepatitis B
vaccine
A
Land Built on Family Values?
#1 – Highest divorce rate per one thousand population (among
OECD countries)
#1 – Only OECD country without paid family leave (Lesotho,
Papua New Guinea, and Swaziland are the only other countries worldwide without paid
family leave.)
#3 – Largest older population over sixty-five years of age as
of 2008
#3 – Highest percentage increase among developed countries in
the over-sixty-five age-group by 2040
#6 – Net child care costs as a percentage of average wages (of
all OECD countries)
#19 – Expenditures toward child poverty (of 19 OECD countries)
© 2012,
Christopher M. Dawson. All rights reserved.
