Mike’s Musings: Why the U.s. is the best in the world

Despite my rantings about corruption in government, I still believe the United States is the best country in the world. Yes we have our failings, but overall our republic should be at the top of any list.
Not so says U.S. News and World Report. They rate the U.S. fifth best in the world. They say Switzerland is the best (its hard to argue, most lists put them at the top), but then they follow with Canada as #2 (they wouldn’t be in my top 10), followed by Sweden and then Australia.
The report says we have the top economy and military. Further, its cultural imprint spans the world, led in large part by its popular culture expressed in music, movies and television.
In my mind that alone should skyrocket the U.S. to the top. When was the last time you heard a world-renowned Swiss or Canadian musician? Have you been watching movies created by the Swedes or Aussies? I doubt it.
True culture isn’t everything, but what about economy and military. Until China is declared the top economic powerhouse, if they ever are, the U.S. drives the worlds economy. All other countries defer to the U.S dollar as the currency of choice.
And who is going to challenge our military might? It is true we haven’t won much lately, i.e. Afghanistan, Viet Nam, but in those wars we handcuffed ourselves, only using a small percentage of the weaponry at our disposal.
The U.S. loses a lot of points in the category “Open for Business.” Switzerland leads that category because of its favorable taxation and banking laws for business. The U.S. is not so kind and ranks a paltry 59th in the world.
I like to compare our public education with other countries. I think the U.S. has failed miserably in this category. We seem to pour a ton of money at it but it never seems to get any better, particularly in our larger cities.
Much to my chagrin the U.S. ranks 16th in this report, which is rather generous to other reports that have ranked it as low as 27. As usual Sweden and Finland rank at the top.
One metric that I think we all agree is “Quality of Life.” I may be naïve, but I think we have it pretty good here in America. Not so says U.S. News and Report. We are rated 16th in the world. Again the Swedes, and Canadians, along with the Norwegians dominate this category.
I confess I have never visited Sweden, but have been to Canada on numerous occasions, and can’t fathom that country living better than most of us in the U.S. I know many Canadians who long for the day when they can move and live south of their border.
Why? The U.S. has it all. Warm climates, and cold climes, areas of prestige, and areas where slums persist, the best universities in the world, an economy that will not collapse on a whim and a republic form of government that should forever keep us free.
Look at our southern border? It is flooded with illegals attempting to cross because they want a better life and think they can achieve it in the U.S. No one is flooding the borders of Canada or Australia. They come here because guess what? We are the best.