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Broken Britain?



Bakero

Languidly clinical
Oct 9, 2010
13,629
Almería
Apparently not.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/9984829/Britain-ranked-second-only-to-Sweden-in-table-of-most-advanced-countries.html

Britain ranked second only to Sweden in table of most advanced countries.

The SPI top 10:
Sweden
United Kingdom
Switzerland
Canada
Germany
United States
Australia
Japan
France
Spain

The UK outstrips the United States, Germany, France and Japan for overall progress in living standards, infrastructure and individual opportunity according to the index designed by a team of US economists.
Only Sweden scores more highly overall in the new “Social Progress Index” (SPI), which ranks 50 leading countries by combining figures on everything from health and crime to broadband access and freedom of speech.
According to the authors, Britain’s constant efforts to “straddle” Europe and America have made it one if the best places to live in the world overall.
While European countries with often generous welfare systems score highly in the new index’s key “social infrastructure” measure, they fare less well in the “opportunity” category which combines personal freedoms with measures such as access to higher education.
Meanwhile the US tops the table in opportunity but comes only 16th in the social infrastructure category.

And, despite criticisms of the NHS, health care proves central to Britain’s success in the rankings.
The index compiled by Prof Michael Porter, of Harvard, and a team of economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is designedas an alternative to traditional measures such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is based on purely economic standards.
They pulled together more than 50 sets of data ranging from figures from the OECD and World Health Organisation to academic studies to come up with the new measure of overall progress.
Michael Green, executive director of the Social Progress Imperative, the Washington-based think-tank which publishes the new index, said the secret of the UK’s success appeared to be its “mid-Atlantic” approach.
“If you think of Britain’s self image as straddling the best of Europe and the best of America that is what seems to be coming across in the data,” he said.
While the US spends more per head than anywhere else in the world on health care, it comes only 11th for overall “health and wellness” in the new index.
By contrast health spending in Britain is 11th but it tops the table for overall health and wellness.
The UK also comes fourth on a measure of “access to information and communications” behind Switzerland, Germany and Sweden but ahead of the Korea, France and the US.
The measure takes into account official figures for broadband access and mobile phone use as well as an index of “press freedom”.
But Mr Green added: “We are not saying that Britain is perfect, you can unpick this and see where the challenges are.
“One is affordable housing where we do less well than Germany, there are emerging issues in health such as obesity, heart disease and cancer and also access to higher education comes up.”
He went on: “We are not just another income measure like GDP, our index is based on measuring real things that matter to real people.
“GDP is pretty good at measuring social progress, the results broadly correlate with rising income but it is not the whole answer and we have got to start to talk about other things as well.”
 
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Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
49,900
Goldstone
Something wrong there surely, we all know Britain is the worst place in the world, and everyone is leaving.
 

Giraffe

VERY part time moderator
Helpful Moderator
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Aug 8, 2005
26,421
Thank you Margaret.
 

pwlr1966

Active member
Aug 7, 2011
268
just goes to prove if Romney Marsh had got off her right wing ass, she would have got a proper job!
 


South Stand Rebel

New member
Sep 6, 2012
169
One of the reasons Britain scored highly was down to the NHS. Guess we won't be in the top ten for very long once the profiteers have had their naughty way :wink:
 


Feb 3, 2013
398
Thanks Maggie and you are a legend. Labour mustn't be elected at any cost. Daffy Duck Ed Milliand will ruin this county once and for all if he and his clueless party win power.
 


BadFish

Huge Member
Oct 19, 2003
16,975
Something wrong there surely, we all know Britain is the worst place in the world, and everyone is leaving.

Apart from all the foreigners that are going over for the free cash and houses.
 

JamesAndTheGiantHead

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2011
6,217
Worthing
Well the list was compiled by the US, which gives the game away by only giving themself seventh, they must have done the adding up wrong.

Come on Sweden, hand over the real list, you flat-pack bas**rds!
 


Bakero

Languidly clinical
Oct 9, 2010
13,629
Almería
The cynic in me would suggest that the study was commissioned by a left leaning think tank to highlight the benefits of a national health service to Americans. Could be why they stress "Britain’s constant efforts to “straddle” Europe and America" as a key to our success. 'We should be a bit more like Britain' is probably an easier sell than 'we should be more like France.'
 

Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Jul 11, 2003
59,071
The Fatherland
The cynic in me would suggest that the study was commissioned by a left leaning think tank to highlight the benefits of a national health service to Americans. Could be why they stress "Britain’s constant efforts to “straddle” Europe and America" as a key to our success. 'We should be a bit more like Britain' is probably an easier sell than 'we should be more like France.'

I found the straddle comment odd. The UK is at logger-heads with Europe most of the time.
 

Hatterlovesbrighton

something clever
Jul 28, 2003
4,543
Not Luton! Thank God
I found the straddle comment odd. The UK is at logger-heads with Europe most of the time.

Uk politicians maybe, but lots of businesses do straddle both markets very well.

Business leaders keep themselves pretty quiet about it at the moment but if there was any serious threat of us leaving the eu they would be at the front of the stay in campaign
 

Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
49,900
Goldstone
Apart from all the foreigners that are going over for the free cash and houses.
Maybe they were part of the poll?

Business leaders keep themselves pretty quiet about it at the moment but if there was any serious threat of us leaving the eu they would be at the front of the stay in campaign
Oo, I could learn something here - what wouldn't they be able to do if we weren't in the EU? Does not being in the EU badly effect Switzerland's ability to trade in Europe?
 


Bakero

Languidly clinical
Oct 9, 2010
13,629
Almería
Oo, I could learn something here - what wouldn't they be able to do if we weren't in the EU? Does not being in the EU badly effect Switzerland's ability to trade in Europe?

It does ensure that business leaders have a plentiful supply of labour though.
 

beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,237
Business leaders keep themselves pretty quiet about it at the moment but if there was any serious threat of us leaving the eu they would be at the front of the stay in campaign

except all those very vocally pro-EU or Anti-EU who often sign letters to the broadsheets calling to stay in/get out. it very much depends on you business and what the terms of being out of the EU would be. Switzerland is mentioned, but you may have noticed companies from US, Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, South Africa, Brazil, Russia amongst others, somehow find a way to do business within the EU.
 

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