USA: a nation divided by wealth

Whilst scanning the Guardian site for updates on the American election I came across a couple of fascinating reports that I think will be of interest to those who want to understand what America is

One of the frequent errors I come across in American Politics essays is the idea that the Democratic Party are a socialist party. But the truth is that they have been remarkably afraid to tackle the issue of inequality in the USA, preferring to compromise with the Republicans on policies like welfare reform or health care. I wrote earlier in the summer about this in a What are the Democrats for? posting

The Guardian reports that:

‘Despite spending $230m (£115m) an hour on healthcare, Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed country. And while it has the second-highest income per head in the world, the United States ranks 42nd in terms of life expectancy.

These are some of the startling conclusions from a major new report which attempts to explain why the world’s number-one economy has slipped to 12th place - from 2nd in 1990- in terms of human development.

The American Human Development Report, which applies rankings of health, education and income to the US, paints a surprising picture of a country that spends well over $5bn each day on healthcare - more per person than any other country.

The US is ranked 42nd in global life expectancy and 34th in terms of infants surviving to age one. The US infant mortality rate is on a par with that of Croatia, Cuba, Estonia and Poland. If the US could match top-ranked Sweden, about 20,000 more American babies a year would live to their first birthday.’

Deep divisions
‘The report not only highlights the differences between the US and other countries, it also picks up on the huge discrepancies between states, the country’s 436 congressional districts and between ethnic groups.

“The Measure of America reveals huge gaps among some groups in our country to access opportunity and reach their potential,” said the report’s co-author, Sarah Burd-Sharps. “Some Americans are living anywhere from 30 to 50 years behind others when it comes to issues we all care about: health, education and standard of living.

“For example, the state human development index shows that people in last-ranked Mississippi are living 30 years behind those in first-ranked Connecticut.”’

A ranking not to be proud of
‘The US also ranks first among the 30 rich countries of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development in terms of the number of people in prison, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the total population.

It has 5% of the world’s people but 24% of its prisoners.”’

There is also a great accompanying article juxtaposing two districts in the city of New York, the Upper East Side and the Bronx.

‘It only takes a 10-minute trip up New York’s No 6 subway line to see the vast contradictions skewing the performance of the US on the UN’s human development index.

In the heart of the Upper East Side, 96th Street station is in the city’s 14th congressional district - the highest ranked in the nation, according to the index. Townhouses with neatly tied curtains and ornate railings open on to streets abutting Central Park, only steps away from the city’s top museums and art galleries. Billionaire residents include the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, and the financier George Soros.

Average earnings here are $116,000 (£58,000), unemployment is 5.4%, two-thirds of residents are white and six out of 10 people have a university education.

Local delicatessens offer gourmet sandwiches and lattes. The streets are lined with independent bookstores and fashion boutiques and there is a preponderance of pet salons pandering to pampered pooches.

Five stops further up the line, 138th Street station is in the Bronx, among the 20 worst-performing districts in the US with a score of 3.4 on the UN’s index - which corresponds to the national average around 1985.’

Read the rest of the article here

You might like to consider why it is that the Democrats do not adopt a more left of centre stance and tackle these issues head on. Is it to do with America’s psyche, its suspicion of government, or perhaps the cowardice of its politicians?