prosperity of the US way lowers than you think

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Scandinavia is best!
Norway in first place, Denmark in second and Sweden is advancing to third place on the annual Legatum Prosperity Index.
Norway in first place, Denmark in second and Sweden is advancing to third place on the annual Legatum Prosperity Index. As a matter of fact, this index shows Scandinavia is best when it comes to prosperity: Norway is in first place, Denmark in second and Sweden in third. Legatum uses eight factors to measure countries: economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom, and social capital.
The current index includes 142 countries. Sweden ranked fifth last year but is advancing, thanks to better rankings in economy and personal freedom. What’s surprising is that the U.S., for the first time in the five years the index has been around, is not to be found among the top ten countries—it's in 12th place. The reasons are recent problems with the national economy, the housing bubble, unemployment.

The other top countries in the index are:
4. Australia
5. New Zeeland
6. Canada
7. Finland
8. The Netherlands
9. Switzerland
10. Ireland.
http://www.prosperity.com

 

I think if you are living in the united states, then you already know this. I am surprised canada is up so far. All of the other countries are homogeneous and smaller.(I don't know how much that plays into it) in comparison to the usa. 12 place is still good but first is better.

 

Is anyone even a little surprised by this? I would have thought far lower to be honest.

 

no, I mean looking at my own success. I have a car, house and a job. It is possible to move up but you have to work hard on the education front. This really is a harsh ranking though. Because if you are living in so flo or nyc, you are not going to find a house for 50,000 like I did. There is a large diversity in the usa that the ranking fails to take into account but canada being higher than the usa (and for me is simply a mini usa )shows that we indeed have slipped.

 

It's incredible how different Canada is, given its proximity

 

In fairness to the US we have a much bigger population as well as a huge illegal immigration problem that weighs on the system not to mention the history of racism.
With that said still waiting on my Canada work visa lol

 

Yeah, that different history has a huge impact on the culture. And having the demographic pressures of a huge border with an impoverished country doesn't help either. Canada's somewhat insulated by that. I wonder what the Canadians on the forum think about Canada's relatively better social climate.

 

i don't know if population is really the issue. i think it has more to do with our policies and the wealth disparity. i don't think it's a coincedence that the socialist countries are ahead of us.

 

but canada also has better policies. universal health care and cheaper education spread the costs over the population rather than individuals and takes it out of corporate hands who tend to raise costs to in turn extract profits. w/o student debt and not having to pay expensive health bills more canadians have more money which in turn makes them more prosperous.

 

I'm surprised to see this thread coming from you.

The US has the Affordable Care Act. It shows that we're trying to catching up.

 

I'm not sure I understand your question.

 

Sorry, I deleted and reposted to add another piece of info. My question is, if Scandinavia is a more prosperous place to live, why do so many of them move here, and not vice versa?

Now, I wonder, are there more Scandinavians living in the US, or is it the other way around? If so, why? Maybe you can answer that one, since you're a Scandinavian who has chosen to live and work in the US.

Also, I don't see where rate of taxation is considered. When I worked for NATO and lived in Europe I constantly heard Danes complain about almost 50% of their paychecks going to taxes.

 

Not all people who come here, come here beside this is a more prosperous place. USA is an exciting place for many other reasons. Scandinavians have as long as I have been alive been a place Scandinavians are curious about, most of what is on TV is american, the whole culture seems cool for a lot of people. I don't know one Scandinavian who came here, because it's percieved as more properties, its not. You may have have some jobs that you could make more money here than at home, but most scandinavians that come, and stay, don't come for that. Its hard to explain I guess...USA just seem so exciting for most scandinavians. Swedes have a tradition that you should travel when you are young, you go on summer language courses (England or France) when you are in highschool, backpacking... And going to USA has been a part of this travel tradition.

I came here to do my doctorate, I wanted to do a very specific thing and there were only 5 places in the world that did it then. And Houston was one, so I came here, not to go to the us per se, but by default because of what I wanted to do as I didn't want to go to Japan, or way up north in Sweden. That I stayed is pretty much a fluke with job offers I could not refuse.

I am uncertain why you ask if there are more scans hands in Scandinavia than here,, if you look at the numbers that each Scandinavian country has and what the numbers have been thorough history. There are probably more than a log unit more Scandinavians in Scandinavia. Scandinavians have very little incentive to come here, other as an adventure sort of thing. Most scandinavians who come here, come as au pairs or exchange students, but the vast majority go back home after a few years, the majority who stay,stay because they found love, got married etc.

I would have a far better all over lifestyle if I was at home, but I have been here for 20 years and it is very hard to find a job at home for what I do, so I'm here. And who can not like southern california

There was a time in the 19th and early 20th century when we had mass emigration to the USA because of manynyears of failed crops, poor economy, combined with the promise of the US pioneering, farming and mechanical industry. About 1.2 million swedes left during that time. That is insanely huge numbers given the small population Scandinavian countries have.

I didn't know how this study was done, but I'm pretty sure that it takes everything relevant into account.

Interms of night tax rate; people forget that this includes free schools, free health care etc. If you start calculating the US tax rate and add what you pay in school cost, and healthcare, you actually pay more here if you have kids.

 

If you're paying half of your income in taxes, the things you mentioned are anything but free. In the US you can pay more or less for those things, because you have a choice.

 

Not really. You will definitely get sick one day which can cost a shit ton depending on the sickness and you NEED an education to make a living now so with education costs being what they are I'd rather pay more in taxes and not have student loans that take ten years to pay off. Debt is slavery fam.

 

Some of the rankings surprised me a little.
Scandinavian countries and Switzerland ranking quite high I figured.

 

I'm curious how long it will take before there are changes in social climate as a result of social legislation, or if it will provoke continued or increased backlash from traditionalists.

 

When did I say it was for free? I clearly stated its payed by taxes. The issue is, NO private company is making millions off unused insurance.

You have choices in scandinavia also, plenty of private insurance and schools if you so choose. Doesn't deduct the fact that you can never be denied health care, or be out insured, or end up on the streets because you can't pay the bills or have to pay for any schooling, ever. You have 1.5 years off to take care of your newborn, 1 year for the mom, and 6 months for the father, not to bee exchanged.... I think the system here actually cost the tax paywers more in the end. Mainly because the horrible healthcare. And, we do not have poverty in the sense we have here. Its nit comparabe in the same year even. People on the streets are not poor, they have mental issues.. And that problem is exactly the same here. And people can still get rich, where is the IKEA dude on the list? Perhaps you have more chances to get rich here, but it doesntnreally apply to the regular dude.

Again, I never said 'these things are free , the fact is, here, we are paying for the exact damn same thing but its more expensive here, because private companies make a huge buck off of it. Fact. Do the math of what you get for the money.
Getting all this stuff, that everybody should have a right to have (education and health care) privatety, paying for it outside taxes, makes it more expensive, because somebody has to make a profit. Its no wonderbthe countries that have found a way to marry social democracy and capitalism is ahead of the US.

So why am I here then?
I am here on a mission, I want to work on cancer research, that is my passion. Can i do that at home? Not what I do, European regulations say that I have to be an MD do to what I do here. So, unless I'm lucky, I will stay here until in retire, then I'm heading off to Sweden as fast is I can! That is for sure! I love my job, I make a difference and that is the ultimate goal!

 

Can I come with you please

 

Absolutely, yes.no actually think you love it in Stockholm.