Not dead last, but close to it.
That’s where the United States came out in a new survey of the world’s 41 highly-developed nations measuring access to social justice and the opportunities they afford their respective citizens and residents.
The Social Justice Index (SJI), detailed in a 274-page report (pdf) and put out by the Bertelsmann Stiftung foundation in Germany, ranks the more than three dozen European Union and OECD nations based on six key social justice dynamics: poverty, education, the labor market, intergenerational justice, health, and social inclusion and nondiscrimination.
While the group said “the picture is rather bleak across the board,” it is the Nordic countries which generally rank highest—with Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden the top five. On the other end, the U.S. came in near the very bottom, ranking 36 out of 41 nations overall, only coming out ahead of Chile, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, and Mexico.
Especially on the issue of poverty, the foundation said in a statement, the U.S. under President Donald Trump “falters considerably” compared to other developed nations. According to the group:
The index further explains that the U.S. “fails miserably” when it comes to placing value on the interests of both older and younger generations when it comes to its domestic policies. It also cites Trump’s horrific environmental record as an area of particular concern.
“The Trump administration has been a rapidly escalating disaster for environmental policy,” said one expert quoted in the report. “Although some of the more liberal states will attempt to continue reducing carbon emissions, no national action can be expected during Trump’s presidency. Indeed, Trump has promised to rejuvenate the coal-mining industry, an economic absurdity.”
Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel free to republish and share widely.
Click Here: Maori All Blacks Store