I just believe that one should face facts and that, in so doing, one has an opportunity to make changes to improve situations. We are very chauvinistic in this country; many, if not most, Americans are convinced that we are God's gift to mankind and live in the best of all possible worlds. Well, we are a great country and have done many good things for mankind. But, as an upcoming book, "State of Working America 2006/2007", shows we are not the perfect country of our dreams. You may argue that the book is put out by the Economic Policy Institute, a union-backed think tank, and is biased against capitalism. Except that the numbers they use come from the OECD, which is held in high regard by most rational people. The numbers show that there are some vital areas where the reality of America in the 21st century does not live up to the imagination of many Americans.
For example, compared to other developed countries, we have more inequality, higher poverty rates, an expensive but poorly performing health system for the less advantaged. Believers agree that there is inequality but say it's the price for greater mobility, more opportunity and stronger job growth than other countries. Unfortunately, the numbers don't back up these contentions as well as they should, particularly for poor people. The low-income family is better off in other countries. While we have one of the highest per-capita incomes, at least half of this is due to our working more hours.
Looking carefully at some of the charts in this book should cause most people to think twice about where this country is today and ask themselves how we can all make more of the American dream a reality for more Americans.
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