The Harvard Business Review had a recent article on something called the “Social Progress Index.” It’s put together by the Social Progress Imperative. SPI developed the index as a complement to the GDP. It is their hypothesis that the traditional economic measure of a country’s success is not telling the whole story. The U.S. is one of the richest countries in the world but, the SPI reports, the U.S. is not turning those positive economic numbers into basic improvements in the lives of citizens.
They have a point. There are news reports almost daily in NJ of our aging infrastructure – bridges, water treatment facilities, roads; the crippling cost of a college education; the continued lack of affordable health care for everyone… Looked at through this lens, you have to wonder where all our taxes are going.
SPI ranked the U.S. 19 out of 20. The top countries for social progress are Finland, Canada, Denmark, Australia and Switzerland. Nearly all of Europe is ahead of us. Slovenia is #20. The index is comprised of 53 different indicators, including nutrition, safety, education, human rights, tolerance, and others. SPI concluded that it paints “a vivid picture of American failure.” Pretty strong words. We are doing significantly worse on social progress than countries we beat economically. In the last year we slipped three more places in the ranking.
Lest this sound like an endorsement for socialism, the study authors point out that the index makes no judgments about policies such as money spent or laws passes; it is entirely outcome measures like the homicide rate, greenhouse gas emissions and the rate of traffic fatalities. Both socialist and free-market system countries are in the top 20 list.
They have a point. There are news reports almost daily in NJ of our aging infrastructure – bridges, water treatment facilities, roads; the crippling cost of a college education; the continued lack of affordable health care for everyone… Looked at through this lens, you have to wonder where all our taxes are going.
SPI ranked the U.S. 19 out of 20. The top countries for social progress are Finland, Canada, Denmark, Australia and Switzerland. Nearly all of Europe is ahead of us. Slovenia is #20. The index is comprised of 53 different indicators, including nutrition, safety, education, human rights, tolerance, and others. SPI concluded that it paints “a vivid picture of American failure.” Pretty strong words. We are doing significantly worse on social progress than countries we beat economically. In the last year we slipped three more places in the ranking.
Lest this sound like an endorsement for socialism, the study authors point out that the index makes no judgments about policies such as money spent or laws passes; it is entirely outcome measures like the homicide rate, greenhouse gas emissions and the rate of traffic fatalities. Both socialist and free-market system countries are in the top 20 list.