Good ol’ USA has slipped

By Jim Hightower

OtherWords

America the Beautiful! America the Greatest! We’re No. 1, right?

Absolutely, naturally, and indisputably. At least that’s the theocratic pronouncement of far-right-wing nativists who preach the dogma of American “exceptionalism.” They use the concept as a not-to-be-questioned litmus test of our patriotism.

Never mind that on many crucial measures of national achievements, our Good Ol’ U.S. of A has slipped in recent years.

For example, the U.S. rate of educational improvement has tumbled to 25th place among rich and newly developing nations. (Say it Loud and Say it Proud: We’re No. 25!).

Powerhouses

Not only does that place us behind such education powerhouses as Germany. We’re lagging behind Colombia, Latvia, Portugal, and Slovenia too.

Yes, America remains the world’s richest nation. Yet our wealth is more concentrated in the hands of a rich elite. Even China has a more democratic distribution of riches.

Health care? We’re in 37th place and ranked dead last among wealthy democracies. The quality of America’s infrastructure ranks a poor 25th. In a category that not long ago was a source of great national strength and pride, our middle class is being hollowed out.

In the past century, America became great through deliberate and determined public investments in the common good. That’s our true path back to being No. 1.

Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, public speaker and editor of the populist newsletter, He wrote this for OtherWords, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies.