As I sip my fresh joe this morning, I am still pondering the implications of an article I posted yesterday ranking countries of the world in terms of the best places to raise a family. The authors used 30 data points from the 35 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) because of the reliability of the data. Maybe not surprising for some, the U.S. finished in 34th place, one place ahead of last place Mexico.
It is kind of hard to fathom that your home country does not live up to your expectations, especially when you brag about living the “best country in the world.” As you might have guessed, the Nordic countries finished at the top of the list, lead by Iceland and followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Luxembourg. I might parenthetically add that this list is similar to the “happiest countries of the world” list that is published annually. I guess there is a logical relationship between happiness and feeling good about where you raise a family.
Why did we do so poorly? The authors focused on six categories to do their assessment – safety, happiness, cost, health, education, and time. We scored poorly in safety influenced by the high homicide rate per 100,000 in this country. I guess being ‘well-armed’ has its drawbacks. Human rights took a hit influenced by the safety fears by people of color, and we finished last in cost. We were twice as expensive as New Zealand, the country just ahead of us on the list. Childcare cost jumps out where we spend 5 to 7 times more than Scandinavian countries. Another surprise was that mothers are twice as likely to die of childbirth than in Canada, yet we spend three (3) times more for a standard childbirth in this country. On the topic of childbirth, we have zero government mandated paid maternity, paternity, sick, or vacation time, the ONLY country on the list without these benefits.
As I pondered the list, I thought to myself, is this not really about priorities? It is much like the previously mentioned ‘happiest countries list’ and what you choose to focus on. The Nordic countries put their priorities on “balance.” They are willing to fund a social net with their taxes which takes much of the worry out of life, e.g., healthcare, unemployment, education, topics that weigh heavily on our citizens. Nobody in these countries goes bankrupt because of health issues over which they have no control. I think it is safe to say that they also don’t spend half of their discretionary government budget on war - tanks, planes, and ships. I also suspect that the kids in their schools do not have shooter drills either. I guess when our homicide rate is at least 6X more than most countries on the list, it spills over to the children.
I will move on by simply harking back to my notion of priorities. We have the resources in this country to fund the kind of life that would move us to the top of any of these ‘best’ lists, but if our focus is on the avaricious pursuit of individual goals without regard for our social structure and environment, we have by default set our priorities. We continue to elect legislators who pass tax laws masquerading as reform when their objective is to move more dollars into the pockets of the wealthy at the expense of programs which will benefit working families. I suspect that some of my ‘friends’ may label me a ‘socialist,’ but my answer is ‘screw the labels’ and let’s focus on what is best for the families of this country, not the wealthy 1%. We have a limited time on this earth, should we not be happy and feel safe?
Enough of my soapbox this morning. I guess I need more caffeine and a crumpet.