US Drops To 5th Place In Global Competitiveness, Survey Shows

US Drops To 5th Place In Global Competitiveness, Survey Shows

www .msnbc.msn.com

The U.S. has tumbled further down a global ranking of the world's most competitive economies, landing at fifth place because of its huge deficits and declining public faith in government

The results of a survey of 142 nations comes a day before Obama is preparing to tackle jobs issues in a speech to the U.S. Congress, and just as U.S. polls show a clear majority of those surveyed say they disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy.

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I was rather surprised at the list, I was not aware of Switzerland's top spot. Nor was I aware of the other three countries in front of us. With Obamas support slowly dwindling its no surprise that we are dropping down the ranks in other countries eyes. 2012, perhaps the year for some real change? (Politically speaking)

www .msnbc.msn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by ka119

Switzerland held onto the top spot for the third consecutive year in the annual ranking by the Geneva-based forum, which is best known for its exclusive meeting of luminaries in Davos, Switzerland, each January.

switzerland wins in a survey of a swiss forum. hmmmm.....

Wow!

We're at FIFTH?!?!

That's faaaar better than I though we were doing!

Seriously, tho...S&F for an important topic!

reply to post by ka119


Interesting, I believe the Swiss economy is not as large an complex as the US. So while I agree US have a deficit and unemployment problems is seems a littler bit bias coming from a Swiss source.

But then again I read the article and it does praise US in some other areas,



From the source,

The forum praised the U.S. for its productivity, highly sophisticated and innovative companies, excellent universities and flexible labor market

thats ok! according to that commercial our youth has the most confidence of any nation!

Originally posted by icepack
reply to post by ka119

 

Switzerland held onto the top spot for the third consecutive year in the annual ranking by the Geneva-based forum, which is best known for its exclusive meeting of luminaries in Davos, Switzerland, each January.

switzerland wins in a survey of a swiss forum. hmmmm.....

I somehow missed that. Coincidence? I think not.. I just thought that was an interesting post, a lot of people just assume we are #1 at everything in the world

reply to post by ka119


Yes, many people still believe we are the best of the best, but the reality is a bitter one, I think propganda in our own nation is what still keep many believing our supremacy.

Actually, if we were to apply strict logic and eliminate the whole "confidence" and 'gambling' aspects of racketeering marketeering , I think Iceland would be number one.

Another interesting statistic is the standard of living index.

www.skeptically.org...

and the happiest index...

www.financialjesus.com...

The USA coming in at a pathetic #14, with [gasp] socialist countries much higher. I'm not advocating socialism but surely the conservative model needs to be adjusted, where the most happy are the most wealthy and the workers suffer from the most child abuse, spousal abuse, drug and alcohol abuse etc.

Not quite the paradise Rush and his devotees make it out to be.

just sayin......

This is from one of the super elite invite only billionaire club think tanks tucked away in Switzerland that all conspiracy theorists hate with a passion.
That said, there are so many US haters on here I think this will be widely accepted by turning a blind eye to the "Bilderberg" type group this comes from. Anything that says US is not #1 is eaten like candy around here.

FYI everyone

Switzerland basically runs on a free market system

you hear that libs?

reply to post by whaaa


I agree, our nation division of classes gap has grown alarmingly since we lost the industrial base, sadly the gap between the super rich and the working poor has taken over, with the elimination of the middle working class.

We are officially a welfare nation.

reply to post by ModernAcademia


I wonder if the have a welfare system and how it works for them.

From everything I've ever read, America's domestic industrial infrastructure at this point, is largely non-existent. It has apparently been almost completely outsourced to China.

You can't do that, and expect to maintain a viable economy. There's very little in America domestically, apparently, that generates real, material wealth. Virtually everything is bought from overseas.

So yes; the American economy is headed through the floorboards. Naturally, and completely predictably. It's directly analogous to being suprised that a car will no longer run, after you've removed the engine.

Switzerland held onto the top spot for the third consecutive year in the annual ranking by the Geneva-based forum

Switzerland first? Are they kidding?

If Greece fails, the biggest banks in Switzerland go belly up... So please.

reply to post by ModernAcademia


Switzerland has welfare and public healthcare system. But yes, when it comes to market regulations they are pretty liberal.

reply to post by ModernAcademia


Switzerland did not attack any country since 500 Years,
Switzerland has a healthcare system for EVERY citizen,
Switzerland has one of the best democracies in the world - hear that ?

Originally posted by ModernAcademia
FYI everyone

Switzerland basically runs on a free market system

you hear that libs?

Socialized medicine.
Hear that?
Minding their own damn business on the world stage
Hear that?

Switzerland does NOT have socialist medicine. In Switzerland health insurance for everyone is mandatory. I paid 240 CHF per month for mine. There are a lot of different companies, including HMOS ( which are cheaper, but hugely unpopular). Insurance companies cannot just randomly deny someone healthcare because it is not cost efficient, what is and isn't covered is mandated by the government health officials. If you happen to be too poor to afford the insurance then government pays for you until you can afford your own.

Switzerland does not have a "welfare system" so to speak, every canton is different. Social entitlements ( except AHV (old age pensions) and IV ( disablity) are run by individual cantons.

The WORLD Economic Forum is an INTERNATIONAL organization which is headquartered in Switzerland, kind of like the thousands of companies ( many many American, google it) who have their headquarters there, that doesn't make them Swiss.

The UN is headquartered in NYC, does that make them American?