How Prosperous is the U.S.? Check Out the Legatum Propserity Index
A Respectable Score of 9th in the World!
Click on the picture to visit the Legatum Institute
Rick Newman, Chief Business Correspondent for US News and World Report, wrote a fascinating article today with the provocative title “9 Signs of America in Decline.” I can’t resist reports of this type and I was prepared to read a diatribe about how America is falling into “socialism/communism” and that we are the 21st Century version of Sodom,Gomorrah and Rome combined!!! Instead, Newman thoughtfully highlights the 9 signs:
- Problems with jobs
- Economic growth is slipping
- Poverty affects 17% of the population
- Our Educational System is slipping
- Competitiveness has dropped a tad
- Prosperity (we were #4 last year, now we’re #9)
- Health, we’re 27th
- Well-being, we’re 13th
- Happiness, we’re 11th
Newman draws his conclusions from the Legatum Prosperity Index and this is really the fascinating part of his article. I encourage you to check out the Index which I’ve linked below. This is truly a thought-provoking tool to help you understand the world in some fairly concrete terms. The index is divided into “economic competitiveness” and “comparative livability” columns and provides rankings in wide range of categories:
Click on the picture to access the index
If you think this is cool, it gets better. The index allows you to compare countries in a very graphic and interesting way. They call it the “Prosperiscope.” Check this out:
Click on the picture to see a larger version of this image
In this example, I chose Argentina, Austria and the U.S. and you can see that each country seems to have strengths and weaknesses with regard to a wide array of factors.
I encourage you to spend a few minutes exploring the Legatum Prosperity Index. In many ways, it’s an elegant way to put things in perspective and it may even inspire you to ponder the town or community you live in.
