Holy Diver

Saw the "Tiger Mom" being interviewed the other day. Her basic point is that we give our children accolades for failure, and tend not to reward actual success. This breeds a generation that tends to not drive toward success. I recall this being the case as early as kindergarten when in kickball after a game where my team destroyed the other, the coaches called the game a TIE. I looked at my dad, and said "we killed them". He said "I know"

I'm saying this because we, as adult americans do the same thing with our country. We repeat the mantra "We have the best ______ in the world!" over and over again, and yet...we are not.

This is a cool list of world rankings

Country Rankings 2011 - Economy, Geography, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Flags, Maps, Political System

a few that jump out:

Education: 33rd
Infrastructure quality: 23rd
Gender gap: 27th
Health performance: 72nd (37th by WHO)
National IQ: T9th
Communications infrastructure: 23rd
Life expectancy: 47th
Banking system soundness: 108th


Things we are #1 in

Gun Ownership
Universities
Arms deliveries to the world
Nuclear power plants


Unless you are talking about Guns, our Military, colleges, or Nuke Plants....don't say "America has the best______in the world" (Unless you fill that blank with Quarterback, and also say its Tom Brady)

We need to stop lying to ourselves.

chicowalker

Why do you hate America?

Real World

Um, those world "rankings" are usually garbage. The health care rankings are especially a joke. That being said, we certainly aren't perfect, and aren't the best in everything. I think overall we're near the top though. The problem is that we've been in a somewhat steady decline for a few decades now. IMO anyway. I think this country is generally headed in the wrong direction. We've gone from a country that produces, to a country that consumes. We've gone from a nation of laws to a nation of excuses, and it's okays. We've gone from rewarding hard work, to hardly working, while rewarding those who don't work with that which was earned from those who do. We're getting fatter, lazier, dumber, and less willing to sacrafice. We penalize the majority, to appease the minorty. We're in trouble both fiscally and socially IMO, and I'm not sure if we can truly right the ship.

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

khayos

****, where should I move to then... ?

Mrs.PatsFanInVa

Well, we are Number 1 in health care expenditure.

It is hard to ignore that in 2006, the United States was number 1 in terms of health care spending per capita but ranked 39th for infant mortality, 43rd for adult female mortality, 42nd for adult male mortality, and 36th for life expectancy.

Ranking 37th

Of what? Certainly not health - or education.

The three-yearly OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, which compares the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in 70 countries around the world, ranked the United States 14th out of 34 OECD countries for reading skills, 17th for science and a below-average 25th for mathematics.

U.S. Falls In World Education Rankings, Rated 'Average'

If you can't be at the top of those two things, you're never going to be at the top of anything else.

I'd welcome some statistics proving your theory, RW, really I would. I presume you have some sound reasons to back up your "thought" that we're near to the top. Something more than that's the way you've always heard it should be.

wistahpatsfan

Maybe the rest of the world is just catching up with us.
Check out this amazing 4-minute demonstration:
YouTube - ‪Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC Four‬‏

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Real World

Those world rankings are usually garbage. We've been through the health rankings many times in here, and I'm not going to write paragraph after paragraph pointing out why, all over again. Basically, the methodology is a joke relative to what is truly important. Ask yourself this, if you got sick, would you rather go to a hospital in England, Italy, or the USA? I think we all know the answer to that.

Also, life expectancy is another joke category which we've discussed exhaustively in here. Some moron who was banned a long time ago, somehow thought it was the #1 example of great healthcare. Not.

Anyone have the survival rates for cancer handy?

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

Holy Diver

Cancer Survival Rates Vary by Country

wonder how Japan's rates will be affected by the nuclear disater...


US, Japan and France are at the top. Canada and Australia were next


It would be better if you included them in your little "Ask yourself....." Q and A rhetoric.




NOW...ask yourself outt of those countries ( USA, Canada, France, Austrailia, and Japan) which one would you most like to be billed by?

BSR

Mrs.PatsFanInVa

In other words, there are no statistics or articles or facts or figures which back up your statement.

Why would you think we'd all know the answer to that? Personally, having worked in a hospital for years I'm terrified at the prospect of being hospitalized anywhere.

Depends what kind of cancer you're talking about.

Researchers found that USA has the best score with 5 years of survival rate for breast cancer at 83.9% and prostate cancer at 91.9%. Japan scores the best for colon cancer at 63% and rectal cancer at 58.2% in men. Women living in France have the highest rates for colon and rectal cancers at 60.1% and 63.9% respectively.

Which Country Is The Best For Cancer Survival After Treatment