U.S. Tumbles Down Global Ranking Of Competitive Economies

[onehandle]

Source: AP/Huffington Post

GENEVA — The U.S. has tumbled further down a global ranking of the world's most competitive economies, landing at fifth place because of its huge deficits and declining public faith in government, a global economic group said Wednesday.

The announcement by the World Economic Forum was the latest bad news for the Obama administration, which has been struggling to boost the sinking U.S. economy and lower an unemployment rate of more than 9 percent.

Switzerland held onto the top spot for the third consecutive year in the annual ranking by the Geneva-based forum, which is best known for its exclusive meeting of luminaries in Davos, Switzerland, each January.

Singapore moved up to second place, bumping Sweden down to third. Finland moved up to fourth place, from seventh last year. The U.S. was in fourth place last year, after falling from No. 1 in 2008.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/07/us-economy-rank-falls_n_951821.html

[FreakinDJ]

1. WRONG - because Corp Tax Policy encourages Outsourcing

[Playinghardball]

2. US falls to 5th in global competitiveness, survey shows

Source: MSNBC

GENEVA — The U.S. has tumbled further down a global ranking of the world's most competitive economies, landing at fifth place because of its huge deficits and declining public faith in government, a global economic group said Wednesday.

The announcement by the World Economic Forum was the latest bad news for the Obama administration, which has been struggling to boost the sinking U.S. economy and lower an unemployment rate of more than 9 percent.

Switzerland held onto the top spot for the third consecutive year in the annual ranking by the Geneva-based forum, which is best known for its exclusive meeting of luminaries in Davos, Switzerland, each January.

Singapore moved up to second place, bumping Sweden down to third. Finland moved up to fourth place, from seventh last year. The U.S. was in fourth place last year, after falling from No. 1 in 2008.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44423519/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/t/us-falls-th-global-competitiveness-survey-shows/?GT1=43001

[liberal N proud]

3. Another great milestone in the race to the bottom

The oligarchs should be proud.

[RKP5637]

6. But ain't we the best in the world in everything! Go USA! Go USA! Go USA! n/t

[Amonester]

13. Not since the teaRori$t Raygun movement took over. n t

[RKP5637]

22. Yep, "The Terrorist Party" IMO. This country has more to fear from them than

any outside force/group.

[AikidoSoul]

16. The oligarchs don't care about the U.S. -- their investments are international.

Most of their investments are most likely in Communist China.

What about that? We spend billions and billions to fight the communist regimes in all place in the world, and now we invest in them.

It is beyond fucked up.

[november3rd]

19. Right. They don't care.

The problem is, the American people don't care, either. Americans want someone else to do their thinking for them. Then we can decide what we believe based on perceptions and not reason, wedge issues and not responsible self-government.

[Amonester]

29. A majority of the American people do care, but the problem is...

the political class (as a whole) doesn't (generally) listen to what that majority wants: They (mostly) listen to what their corporate donors want.



As long as a TRUE (public) campaign-funding reform will not be implemented at all levels, the political class (as a whole) will keep listening to what their corporate donors want.

Unless...

[RKP5637]

25. Every time I think about it, it's beyond any sense of reality. You are absolutely

right, it's so far beyond fucked up words pale to even begin to describe how fucked up it is.

[RKP5637]

4. American exceptionalism! n/t

[tomg]

8. As in exceptionally screwed up. Nt

[RKP5637]

20. Yep, that sums it all up pretty well! n/t

[renate]

5. I'm honestly surprised we were that high

Is it just because of our size? Because with our trade deficits I wouldn't have expected to see us in the top 20 in terms of "competitiveness," whatever that means.

[newspeak]

14. well, the so called "war on terrorism"

hasn't helped. Instead of strategically taking out those responsible, no we got to create bogus wars, especially in Iraq so the global elite can stake a claim to their resources, while having an added bonus of reaping lucrative war profiteering contracts on our dime.

Like leeches siphoning off the treasury until the last drop. The corporate leech becomes bloated with power and moolah, while the host, our country, diminishes-infrastructure, education, pensions, disaster relief, etc.... Oh but they have a plan, those same leeches that we poured your money to, let's give them all of the services, so you can give even more money to them. And they, in order to make lucrative profits, will pay their employees like shite, need more money, give shitty services and will be unaccountable, so don't complain because you will have no representation.

[dtexdem]

7. I don't believe it:

we can't be that high.

[bongbong]

9. Surprised

I'm surprised; I would've thought we were much lower than #5.

Of course, we are the undisputed champion of two things (only):
1) giving billionaires a free ride
2) making anybody who isn't a billionaire suffer more every year

[AlbertCat]

10. Of course, we are the undisputed champion of two things (only):

1) giving billionaires a free ride
2) making anybody who isn't a billionaire suffer more every year


I Think you forgot a 3rd.

3) Citizen gun hoarding.

[Marthe48]

11. 4. Illegal invasions!

n/t

[bongbong]

15. Yes

Yes, I forgot that one. I suppose there are more we're number one in:

4) ratio of actual stupidity to self-evaluated intelligence
5) sheep-like nature
6) chickens-voting-for-Colonel-Sanders Syndrome

USA! USA! USA! CSA! CSA! CSA!

(CSA = Corporate States of America)

[tomg]

24. And of course we are number 1

at claiming we are number 1. In fact, the only other countries since 1940 that have gone around pounding their chests claiming "We're number 1" were Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union. Hmmm.

[WranglerRog]

12. We''re number last! We're number last!

and I'm proud to be an American where at least I'll work for free......

[Javaman]

17. We're #5 and falling! We're #5 and falling! We're #5 and falling! We're #5 and falling! nt

[Amonester]

41. And... SOCIALIST countries are rising! SOCIALIST countries are rising!

calling faux no_use... calling faux no_use...

How come SOCIALIST SYSTEMS RISE IN PRODUCTIVITY, while the leading predator capitalist one is falling, you loathsome murder-och puppet$, hmmm? :shrug:

[Spider Jerusalem]

18. Switzerland is a tiny country with a population of less than 8 million

if it's "competitive" it's because of the Swiss financial sector (which draws money because Switzerland is a haven for tax exiles and money laundering). In terms of the size of the economy, of the economic output, etc, Switzerland is not more competitive than the US; it's not even in the same league. Nor are any of the other top 5, which have populations of less than 10 million. This survey isn't even comparing apples and oranges, it's comparing grapes with watermelons. It would be more useful to compare the US with other large developed economies like Japan, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, etc, where Germany would come out on top with the US probably second, none of the large developed economies is doing especially well at the moment though in the current global economic climate.

[closeupready]

23. The point is, we were #1, now we're not, and we're falling.

nt

[Spider Jerusalem]

28. No , it really isn't

because it's a meaningless classification. I mean...Switzerland, Singapore, Finland and Sweden? Collectively the top four countries on this list have a population of fewer than thirty million people; less than one tenth that of the US, slightly more than a third that of Germany, less than half that of the UK or France. Zurich and Helsinki won't be taking over from New York and London as global financial capitals anytime soon, and Sweden won't suddenly have greater economic output than Germany. It's a false comparison because it's comparing fundamentally different economies.

[closeupready]

30. Everything is fundamentally different from everything else, if you want it to be.

The point of making comparisons between similar things (NOT identical things, as no two different things can EVER be identical) is, in part, to attempt to make more accurate predictions and hypotheses about why measurements vary between those things.

But ceding the point for the sake of argument, let me ask you this:

Are there financial metrics on which two sovereign states - for example, the US and Switzerland - could be compared, and conclusions drawn from that comparison? If not, then would you think it wise to dispense with the study of economics, or the industrialization of the West? After all, the facts pertaining to those things would be specific ONLY to that particular time and place in the universe.

[Spider Jerusalem]

31. There are financial metrics on which two sovereign states...

with similar economies could be compared, yes. But it's a meaningless comparison if they're as fundamentally different as the US and Switzerland are. My point is that they aren't really similar enough for any comparison to be useful. Switzerland is more competitive than the US...how? In what areas? By what metrics? Switzerland doesn't have a large tech sector (the US does), aerospace (the US does), heavy equipment manufacturing (the US does), mining, oil, etc etc. "competitiveness" measured in terms of relative currency yields and long-term fiscal trends in fundamentally different economies whose governments have fundamentally different budgetary priorities and taxation regimes is a meaningless statistic.

[closeupready]

32. Did you see that 60 Minutes segment by Leslie Stahl,

in which she traveled to Zug, Switzerland, in order to see where - increasingly - companies HQ'ed in the US are relocating in ever-larger numbers? Clearly, there is something about either Zug or Switzerland that these companies feel contributes to, on balance, a more competitive business environment in which to HQ than the US.

Are the management teams of these companies incorrect, or have they been misled? And if so, do you believe we will see these companies come back to the US?

[Spider Jerusalem]

33. Corporate tax is 8.5% in Switzerland and 35% in the US

so it's really nothing more or less than legal tax avoidance. If these companies do most of their business in the US, then they're incorrect and shortsighted in avoiding US taxes on their profits because it is the business environment of the US which enables them to succeed in the first place. And no, you won't see them come back to the US unless US corporate taxes are substantially lowered. But would that be a good thing in order to have them back? Arguably 8.5% is better than 0%, but as a matter of principle they can honestly go fuck themselves.

(And no, I didn't see that 60 Minutes segment, because I live in the UK.)

[wickerwoman]

26. Beat me to it.

Maybe we could be more "competitive" by laundering money for third world dictators and genocidal madmen...

On the other hand, I do think the US is declining in world standing and it has a lot to do with failure to invest in infrastructure and a refusal to deal seriously with climate change and peak oil. There is a very small window in which to rethink completely the way that the US economy is structured and regulated and I haven't seen any even twitches in that direction.

Most Europeans live much more sustainably than Americans (mostly because they built their cities before cars). All the developed economies may be taking a hit, but I bet Europe is more resilient in the long run unless the US gets it shit together pronto.

[sandyj999]

21. I didn't think we were competing any longer. n/t

[RKP5637]

27. The rest of the world snickers at us we're sooooo F'ed up anymore. So sad. n/t

[Land Shark]

34. U.S. Falls to Fifth in Global Competitiveness (Behind Sweden and Finland)

Source: MSNBC

GENEVA — The U.S. has tumbled further down a global ranking of the world's most competitive economies, landing at fifth place because of its huge deficits and declining public faith in government, a global economic group said Wednesday.
{...}
Switzerland held onto the top spot for the third consecutive year in the annual ranking by the Geneva-based forum, {...} Singapore moved up to second place, bumping Sweden down to third. Finland moved up to fourth place, from seventh last year. The U.S. was in fourth place last year, after falling from No. 1 in 2008.

The rankings, which the forum has issued for more than three decades, are based on economic data and a survey of 15,000 business executives. {...} Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse, was sixth, followed by the Netherlands and Denmark. Japan came in ninth, and Britain was 10th. France was 18th, and Greece, saddled with debt, fell to 90th.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44423519/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/t/us-falls-th-global-competitiveness-survey-shows/?GT1=43001#.TmfE8-yGbit

---

The higher-tax "socialist" countries of Sweden and Finland out-compete the USA in this survey of business executives. (As do Switzerland and Singapore)

[peter999]

35. Sad

This is really sad. And this happened under Obama of all presidents.

[2 Much Tribulation]

36. Reasons cited: deficits and lack of corporate ethics leading to lower confidence... nt

[closeupready]

38. In a business environment where, it is often suggested, 'fiduciary duty' trumps ethics,

how can people, generally, have confidence that ethics are being upheld?

[RockaFowler]

37. This actually happened uder Bush

[fascisthunter]

40. lol.... it started with Reagan

[fascisthunter]

39. proof our Friedman was not only wrong, he was smoking some bad shit

or just a fraud...