The American Dream (flickr image By Lance Nelson
Just going by the numbers, the recent downgrade in ranking of the United States to the 31st position in the 2011 Quality-Of-Life Index recently released by Nation Ranking puts it dangerously close to 2nd World nation status. The 137 nations listed, when you divide by 4, shows the U.S. has fallen to within 5 positions of Second-World nation status.
Currently 2nd World nation status begins with Costa Rica at #36 and ends with Paraguay at #69. Even this rating is controversial, since not everyone would agree that Costa Rica deserves 2nd World nation status more than the U.S., for example. On the same listing, 3rd World nation status begins with Botswana at #70 and ends with Equatorial Guinea at #104 and 4th World nation status begins with Kenya at #105 and ends with Somalia at #137.
With the latest jobless figures and other economic indicators pointing south and an ongoing lack of cooperation in the U.S. Congress, it is increasingly likely that the 2012 QOL Survey will show that the U.S. has fallen into 2nd World nation status for the first time since quality-of-life data has been compiled and indexed worldwide.
Mark Overt Skilbred
