There is a growing concern by US policy makers that the
US middle class has fallen behind the rest of the world in key areas such as education,
health and medical, and related basic needs that serve to support its people. Not
only has the US has continued to trend behind other developed nations, but the
US is falling behind in several basic expectations by Americans.
What uses to pass as basic elements to American freedom
are no longer what they seem. America has fallen behind many other developing
or developed countries in a number of these such as property rights, a free
market economy freedom of the press, and even competitiveness.
Americans standing in education has fallen very low with
very high rates of high school and college drop-outs. No country has so much debt for college
loans, not to mention consumer loans.
Of all the developed countries that belong to OCED, the
US ranks at the bottom for providing health care at 26.4% of its people. The
remainder provides health care to 95% or more of their population. The US is
also dead last of these 31 countries in infant mortality. The US is nearly last
of these 31 in early childhood education and day care; half of U.S. children
receive no early child hood education
On the other hand, the US leads the world in a number of
categories that have an impact on the middle class economy: number of companies
in the Fortune 500, defense spending,
those seeking asylum, oil consumption and the number of nuclear generators, incarnation
including rates, populations and the expense of housing them.
In most emerging economies children almost invariably
earn more than their parents. Even in America, despite slow growth and widening
income gaps, most people do better than the generation above them: a recent
study by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that 84% of adult Americans had higher
real incomes than their parents. However, when the US middle class is compared
to other societies mobility based on passing of wealth or poverty to the next
generation, the US falls somewhat in the middle of mobility where America is
lower than most of Europe.
In other words, since the creation of a single market
economy, Europeans meet less resistance than Americans increasing earnings and “moving
up the ladder.” At the beginning of the
20th century Europe one’s economic class was pretty much fixed at
birth but over the next 80+ years, new factors such as access to education came
into play. In the US we are seeing the reverse, where family assets can safely
passed on without an inheritance tax.
Additionally, the same Pew report showed that social
mobility is also lower in the US than any time in the last 30 years. Fully 37%
of 18- to 29-year-olds are unemployed or out of the workforce. This tracks with an earlier 2008 World Bank
report that that among the poorest in the US intergeneration immobility is very
low. “Children born to parents in the
lowest decile are likely to remain in the poorest 50 percent, and half of them
will stay among the poorest 30 percent.”
To understand just how important mobility is in today’s
society imagine that all the have not’s are standing at just outside a gated
community where the have’s live. The
haves, perhaps the top one percentile, control for the most part the economy
and the politics of the government. By doing, so they can shut out those who
aim for a spot in the gated community by controlling and making the rules for those
less fortunate. Consequently, as is
being seen in the US, the much more powerful 1% is controlling the
opportunities of the rest of its society particularly those of middle and lower
income for better paying jobs, access to affordable housing, health care and
education. In turn, this makes it even more difficult to “get ahead,” an
important feature of being middle class in America 30-40 years ago.
If that is not enough, the attitude of many, if not most
of those in the one percentile is to firmly believe that those had plenty of
opportunities and capability to become rich and for those who did not make it,
those who lost their jobs and their homes in the great recession of 2007-2009,
or the dot.com bust before that, well it was their own fault.
To view details and trends of the US
middle class rankings and intergenerational mobility click on the downloadable
PDF file below.
The Dots…How the US Compares to Other Developed Nations
1.
US rank in what the US middle class expect as
basic rights and expectations, several international organizations show the US
failing in a number of categories but number one in asylum seeking:
·
Freedom
of the Press- 2012 the US
ranked 47th of 179 countries behind such countries as Estonia,
the Czech Republic and Poland which were behind the Iron Curtin in the 1980’s.
In 2002 the US was 17th ranked. However, Freedom House ranks the US
second behind Estonia as the highest internet freedom score.
·
Property
Rights (property and intellectual) – The US ranked 18th of 133
countries in the 2012
International Property Rights Report. Not only are the Scandinavian
countries ranked well ahead but also Singapore and Hong Kong.
·
Free
Market Economy – the US ranked 5th in Globscan’s
latest survey where the responder was asked agreed "strongly" or
"somewhat" that the free market was the best system for the world's
future. The US response was less than
60% down from 80% in a similar poll 10 years ago. Germany, Brazil and China
lead by nearly 70%.
·
Global
Competitiveness – the World Economic
Forum ranked the US 5th in its 2011 report in Global
Competitiveness. For 2012 the US fell to 7th of 144 countries ranked
in this annual survey. Singapore was
second while the other 5 positions were taken by European countries.
·
Corruption
– the US ranked 24th in the current Transparency International
Index of 182 countries in their survey. 10 years ago the US was 16th.
·
Global
Innovation - the US ranked 10th
in global innovation in the 2012
WIPO Index. For the second year running, Switzerland, Sweden, and Singapore
lead in overall innovation performance.
·
Pro-family
and family support- In comparing the US with other countries, Center
for the Next Generation (pgs 10-11) found:
§ In
general, large European countries have lower poverty rates than those of the United States, thanks to more
generous social and pro-family policies including paid maternity and paternity
leave, paid child care and other government directed cash payments, and tax
breaks for families with children. European students on average score higher on
math, science, and reading tests than their American peers.
§
The United Kingdom’s universal free preschool, combined with one of the most innovative
family support models in the world, have led to integrated family services and
early intervention in community based “children’s centers.” Begun in the late
1990s, studies show these investments in early childhood and pro-family
services have improved child social behavior, boosted learning skills, and
promoted home settings more conducive to learning.
·
Intergeneration
Mobility – the US ranked 8th in this category Center
for Economic Performance, London study of European and North American
countries.
·
Seeking
Asylum – the US ranks 1st in this category in 2010 of 44 nations
that accept asylum seekers at 15.5%, of the top 10 nationalities seeking asylum
none were from Latin America. (http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/03/asylum-seekers)
·
Gap
between richest and poorest regions the US ranks second behind UK but
Italians has the smallest gap between its regions.
2.
In Education
the US
Department of Education review of OECD statistics reveal that:
·
OECD’s rankings have U.S. students in
14th place in reading literacy
among OECD nations in reading literacy. 15-year-old American students were
average performers showing no improvement in reading since 2000.
·
In
mathematics, U.S. 15-year-olds are below-average performers among OECD
nations—ranked 25th, outperforming their peers in math in only five
OECD countries.
·
In
science US students are in 17th place in 2009 OECD rankings.
·
Overall, in one generation, the United States
has fallen from 1st place to 9th place in the proportion of young people with college degrees.
·
By 2009, 17 percent of German students were competent
at advanced math, compared with just 10 percent of U.S. students. The US is
ranked 27th in math.
·
Of 25 OECD countries in 2006, the US ranks 13th,
at 35%, in the percentage of college
graduates to population. Ranking
higher is Poland at 47.3%. (http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/tertiary-education-graduation-rates_20755120-table1)
3.
According to the Center
for the Next Generation report “The
Competition that Really Matters” published August 2012 (pgs 5-6) finds:
·
The United States has the most educated 60-year-olds in the world but not the most educated
30-year-olds, 20-year-olds or 10-year-olds.
·
More than half of U.S. post-secondary students drop out without receiving a degree.
4.
In matters of health and medical services the US does not rank among the top:
·
Of the 34 members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD), the US:
§
Ranks at the bottom with only 26.4% health care coverage for its 310
million citizens. 30 other OECD countries provide at least 95% coverage.
§
Is 31st in infant
mortality( http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/infant-mortality_20758480-table9)
§
2nd in “Better Life”
index behind Australia. The US excels most in money
and jobs, Switzerland in health and education. OECD adjusted the current index
for income equality with the US
scoring near the bottom.
·
More than a quarter of U.S. children have a chronic health condition, such as
obesity or asthma, threatening their capacity to learn according to Center
for the Next Generation.
·
In providing social and nutrition services
·
Of the 34 members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD), the US:
§
More than 22 percent of U.S. children lived in poverty in 2010, up
from about 17 percent in 2007.
§
Only 11 percent of workers have paid family leave, making it
increasingly difficult for dual-earner and single-family households to properly
care for children.
§
In 2011 the US ranked as one of the most impoverished 4th from the bottom
at 17.4% of 34 OECD countries, followed by Chile, Israel and Mexico (see chart
below).
§
Ranks 30th in early childhood education and day care, half of U.S. children
receive no early child hood education, and there is no national strategy to
increase enrollment. Poor country such as Romania does better with a 75%
enrollment or Mexico with 82%. (Source: OECD Education database; Canada,
National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (2006); Korea: Korean
Institute of Childcare and Education; Eurostat (2008) for non-OECD countries.)
·
The US is ranked #1, overall in the current Economist
Intelligence Unit global
food security index particularly in the area of affordability.
·
However, the US was #4 in food availability behind Denmark, Norway and France
·
The Us ranked #3 in food quality and safety behind Israel and France
5.
Social
Mobility: A Pew Research 2010
survey of the Millennials (born after 1980) generation
finds that they are not doing nearly as well as their parents:
·
Today, fully
37% of 18- to 29-year-olds are unemployed or out of the workforce, the
highest share among this age group in more than three decades. Research shows
that young people who graduate from college in a bad economy typically suffer
long-term consequences -- with effects on their careers and earnings that
linger as long as 15 years
·
A significant share (one-in-eight) of adult
Millennials (ages 22 and older) is living
with their parent due to the recession.
·
One-in-five (21%) adults of those are married now, half the share of their
parents' generation at the same stage of life.
·
About a third (34%) are parents. In 2006, more
than a third of 18 to 29 year old women who gave birth were unmarried, far higher than earlier
generations.
·
Of 29 OECD countries in 2007, the US suicide
rate was 16th lowest at 11.2% per 100,000. Greece and Mexico ranked
#1 and 2.
·
Ranked 4th the 34 OECD members in paying the least amount of total overall taxes in 2009 (http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/taxation/total-tax-revenue_20758510-table2)
·
In studies conducted by the World Bank[1],
noted that “a common measure is the
elasticity of son’s to father’s income; the smaller the elasticity, the higher
mobility will be, and the less dependent an individual’s earnings on that
individual’s background.”
§
The report found that “Mobility in the United States is much lower than in Canada, Finland,
Sweden, or the United Kingdom (see also chart 1 from the Economist below). “There
is a fairly high intergenerational elasticity in earnings between fathers and
sons in the United States.”
§
Further the World Bank researchers reported that
among the poorest in the US intergeneration immobility is very low. “Children born to parents in the lowest
decile are likely to remain in the poorest 50 percent, and half of them will
stay among the poorest 30 percent.”
§
Possible reasons are that “parents from poorer backgrounds face financial constraints early in the
lifetime of the child such that they cannot “buy into” neighborhoods with
higher-quality schools. And that low wealth generates an intergenerational
poverty trap. This justifies paying attention to family background as a key
source of inequality of opportunity.”
6. Global
Businesses and Economy
·
According to Fortune
magazine 2012 global survey, when ranked by
revenue America has almost twice as many companies of the biggest 500 than any
other country
§ Ratio
of big firms to GDP highlights the places where tax is low and business is easy
to do, Luxembourg does best with 34 companies per trillion dollars, followed by
Switzerland and Taiwan.
·A comparison
by EIU of unemployment rates
between pre and post-recession of US and European countries shows that Spain
has the highest percent of change, the US 10th.
7. US
Budget revenues, expenditures and deficit
·
The US receives and expends by far the largest
amount of any other country but in 2012, based on information compiled from the
CIA fact book, US
ranks 191st of 262 entities.
·
In 2010 the US ranks first in spending
on defense but second in defense spending as a percent of GDP.
8. The
US incarcerates the largest number
of people in the world, more than Russia or China according to several
studies.
·
The incarceration rate in the US is four times
the world average.
§ The
US imprisons the most women in the world.
§ The
US has less than 5% of the world’s population but over 23% of the world’s
incarcerated people.
§ Some
individual US states imprison up to six times as many people as do nations of
comparable population. In several states, i.e. Louisiana prisons system has become a
growth industry.
§ The
Washington DC Sentencing
Project published “Incarcerated
Parents and Their Children” report in February 2009, finding that:
a. In
2007, 1.7 million minor children had a parent in prison, an 82% increase since
1991.
b. One
in 43 American children has a parent in prison, with particularly broad
racial/ethnic variation.
c. One
in 15 black children and 1 in 42 Latino children has a parent in prison,
compared to 1 in 111 white children.
d. In
2007, there were 809,800 parents incarcerated in U.S. state and federal
prisons, an increase of 79% since 1991.
e. In
2007, half (52%) of all incarcerated men and women were parents.
·
U.S. alone is responsible for holding roughly
15% of all the prisoners in the world. This constitutes over 2% of the entire
U.S. population.
§ If
the comparison is limited to working aged adult males, of which there are
around 100 million, then over 5% of the
adult male population is under some form of correctional supervision, alternatively
stated, 1 in 20 adult males are under correctional supervision in the U.S.
·
US crime rates do not account for incarceration
rates meaning prison growth and higher incarceration rates do not reflect a
parallel increase in crime, or a corresponding surge in the nation’s population
at large. The US ranks 3rd of 34 OECD countries in assaults but 32
of 34 in murder in OECDs
Better Life report of 2012.
·
In 2008 (the peak in US incarnations), according
to the US
Department of Justice, there were 7,308,200 persons in the US criminal
justice correction system, 4,270,917 were on probation, 828,169 on parole,
785,556 in jails, and 1,518,559 in state and federal prisons. In 2012 there are
3,199
on death row and 1,276 executions since 1976.
·
However, in 2007 the US
is fifth in executions with 52 behind China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
9. International
Stability
·
The US is the largest weapons
suppliers and is one of 5 countries that export 75% of the world’s
armaments.
10. Environment
and Energy
·
The US ranks 49th of 132 countries in
Yale University ranking of
Environmental Performances for 2012 and in fact is categorized as 3rd
highest in the “modest” category behind the Republic of Georgia a former member
of the USSR. In 2005, the US was ranked 45th.
·
The US is the largest generator
of electricity by nuclear power but 5th in percentage of
domestic production.
·
The US continues to show its dependence on oil
imports and consumption ranking first for last 30 years and now more
recently followed by the European Union
[1]
Measuring
Inequality of Opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank Washington, DC September 2008
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