Why America Cannot be Considered the “Greatest Country in the World.”
America is far from being the greatest country in the world. The notion that we could possibly be the greatest or “most free,” country in the world is astounding to me. We are ranked 19th in happiness, 27th for healthcare and education, and 56th for crime which is only behind one other 1st world country. However, the basis that we are the greatest country in the world is mainly sited from the idea that we have the “greatest economy in the world,” but what does that truly mean?
When looking into the subject you quickly find articles talking about the GDP, or gross domestic product, and GDP per capita of America compared to other countries. According to Investopedia, America has the highest nominal GDP globally sitting at $20.89 trillion, and highest GDP per capita at $63,413.50. Comparing these numbers to the second highest for each category, with China’s nominal GDP being $14.72 trillion, and Germany’s GDP per capita sitting at $46,208.40, it is safe to say that the United States is far ahead according to these metrics.
In an opinion piece by Matthew A. Winker titled Biden’s Economic Performance Has Proved Unbeatable, he sites that Biden, among the previous 10 presidents, ranks number 1 in GDP, profit growth, S&P 500 performance, consumer credit, non-farm payrolls, manufacturing jobs, business productivity, dollar appreciation, and S&P 500 relative performance. He uses the article to compare and contrast President Biden and former President Carter’s economies. His claim is that Biden, similar to Carter, received flack for accelerating inflation from global supply chain breakdowns, despite working to maintain a strong economy. To give credit to the President, and the article written, there is some achievement to be shown that he can rank so highly on those metrics despite leading the country out of a global pandemic, and when viewing the economy as a whole, rather than how it effects each individual, the US is doing historically unprecedented for our circumstances.
However, when looking at the individual American or American family, we can see a different picture of America’s economy. When using that more individualistic approach we find that the Per capita GDP “is frequently cited when assessing the standard of living,” so it would be fair to say from this assessment that the average American would be living at the standard of a $63,000 income. However, according to FRED economic data, the median personal income in the United States for 2020 was $35,805.
This disparity in data begs the question. Why is the median personal income so vastly different from the GDP per capita? The reason is our countries billionaire class. As said in a Balance article “A few extremely wealthy people in one area can raise the average and that would make it seem like people have it better than they really do.” This now gives us a better picture of America’s economy.
As previously said the median personal income is around $35,000, and if you were to work at the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 / hour, your salary would drop to around $16,000. FDR when implementing the federal minimum wage said, “No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country,” clarifying that “by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level — I mean the wages of decent living.”
So that being said the cost of living in the US should be around $15,000 then correct? Well according to Business Insider “The median necessary living wage across the entire US is $67,690.” That just means these people need to move to cheaper, more rural areas, and work there instead. I’m sure that there are places in the US where the minimum wage is substantial enough to live off of. The article goes on to say, “The state with the lowest annual living wage is Mississippi, with $58,321.”
So, to counteract the disparity between federal minimum wage the government must be providing aid while working to fix the issue correct? America currently has around a half million homeless population, and it has been steadily increasing since the 1980s, where there were an estimated 100,000 homeless American citizens. Finally to bring everything full circle, organizations such as National Alliance to End Homelessness, Coalition for the homeless, and Depaul USA all play their part in contributing to the United States’ GDP.
As a summary to the train of logic we went through, the united states has the highest GDP and GDP per capita in the world, however the median personal income is a little over half of the GDP per capita because of billionaires in the US and massive corporations. Following this we found out that an American making minimum wage makes around half of the median income per person in the US, and both the median income per person and income based off federal minimum wage are substantially below the median necessary living wage in America and leads to the 500,000 homeless population in the US, which is fixed by charities, which contribute to the GDP, working to fix the issue instead of the government.
When someone is to cite America having a strong economy, or an economy doing well under any specific president, what I hear them saying is that the wealth of the top 0.1% is gaining, while most American workers aren’t changing, and use this claim of the economy succeeding to belittle the everyday worker for not doing enough to get out of poverty and an excuse to not need change our current system. The United States is a flawed country at best, and by continuing to state that we have a strong economy continues to present the false idea of a majority of Americans being well off. There are two issues at hand with changing our economic policies to support our neighbors in poverty. One is educating a portion of America that the issue exists, and one is solving the issue.
Delving into the toxicity that is poor, white, rural America’s education system is an entirely different topic, but they are still a portion of America that needs to be treated with respect. It becomes the responsibility of the educated to educate the uneducated, because when we withhold information because we feel it isn’t our responsibility to initiate change, we are doing what the 0.1% does with money, but with knowledge. Bernadino of Siena used the analogy that our society is like a body, and that our money needs to flow through the community like blood does. When we withhold ourselves and aid from others, we become a blood clot, and while we may personally benefit from our selfishness, our actions have consequences that effect the people we love around us.