U.S. Lags Dreadfully Behind Other Developed Countries

A new must-read article at the Daily Kos asks a very important question: Why Isn't the United States No. 1 Where It Counts?

The premise is straightforward: Despite being number one in the world in terms of total Gross Domestic Product, the United States lags considerably behind other countries in education, health care, and even childhood poverty.

Among the notable statistics is the following rankings for the United States:

22nd in literacy;
17th in childhood poverty among 21 selected countries in the OECD;
47th in infant mortality;
47th in life expectancy at birth;

The article also points out that we are number one in certain categories, including the percentage of GDP spent on health care, which is twice the OECD average.

Having the largest economy in the world means little if it is all achieved on the backs of the middle class without a commensurate commitment to their well-being. When you consider that labor unions have been vital avenues for achieving substantive gains in middle class growth over the past century, it's shocking that anyone could view these statistics and think it's a good idea to continue attacking public employees by taking away their rights at the workplace.