Posted on 09/26/2006 10:55:25 AM PDT by Mikey_1962
GENEVA (Reuters) -- The United States fell to sixth place in the World Economic Forum's 2006 global competitiveness rankings, ceding the top place to Switzerland as macroeconomic concerns eroded prospects for the world's largest economy.
In a report released Tuesday, the World Economic Forum said Washington's huge defense and homeland security spending commitments, plans to lower taxes further, and long-term potential costs from health care and pensions were creating worrisome fiscal strains.
Switzerland grabs top spot in World Economic Forum's global rankings. U.S. sinks to 6th.
"With a low savings rate, record-high current account deficits and a worsening of the U.S. net debtor position, there is a non-negligible risk to both the country's overall competitiveness and, given the relative size of the U.S. economy, the future of the global economy," it said.
Switzerland was deemed the most competitive economy in 2006, followed by Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore. After the United States, which had topped the 2005 index, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain rounded out the top 10.
The Geneva-based World Economic Forum said Switzerland's well developed infrastructure, plentiful scientific research, intellectual property protection and sophisticated business culture helped launch the country to the index's leading position.
As in Switzerland, it said high-ranking Nordic countries benefited from strong institutions and excellent education and training, but said they lagged in labor market flexibility.
Most European Union countries saw stable competitiveness readings over the past year, but Italy's competitiveness ranking fell to 42nd - compared to 38th last year - because of ongoing macroeconomic and institutional weakness.
Russia, China slip Russia slipped nine places for a 62nd-place ranking this year, largely due to private sector misgivings about the independence of the country's judiciary.
China's ranking also fell - to 54 from last year's 48.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
My money is, and will always be on the U.S. of A.
I say we buy Switzerland, then we'll be number one.
I'll chip in $20.
How do you feel about college football? lol
Touche...
money laundering banks.
You bet...........if we were more socialistic, we would be far more competitive in the world........especially the world of socialists.
Rates right up there on my fantastically accurate bullshitometer.
I just read a bit more at the author's site, it's about debt. Elsewhere in the report they talk about lowering taxes as good for the economy. They praised Israel's cutting spending and cutting taxes as good for growth. They nailed Venezuela for basically all of Chavez' policies -- and said his otherwise noble goals like education for the poor aren't happening.
Geneva-based - says it all
Their top ten list includes 7 European countries, but only 3 of them use the Euro.
US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets.
Couldn't have anything to do with how the ranking turned out, could it?
But in the US Business have to worry about organizing and financing 401K's, health insurance, continuing education and so forth. In those socialist countries, they can devote all their time and resources to making money.
Regards, Ivan
Never heard of the Salary Cap.
There is no more socialist institution in the world than the NFL.
"Switzerland was deemed the most competitive economy in 2006, followed by Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore. After the United States, which had topped the 2005 index, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain rounded out the top 10."
This can't be correct. Muslims are, according to them, the chosen and best among us all.
And based on things I've gleaned, Ireland has enjoyed fantastic economic progress.
You've got it. The USA has a societal strata from the world's bottom to the world's top. You gotcher illegal aliens living 30 to a small house, crack dealers filling the projects, and then you gotcher billionnaires whose feet never touch the ground. And still (yet) some middle class stuffed in between!
We are sorely lacking in the proper way to educate our children, however. Gay months and global warming are wasting our kiddies' time when other countries still have the 3R curriculum.
They have better standards of living day-to-day, though the medical care is far worse than here.
And DO note who is saying it. All the international folk in Geneva are expats and don't pay the taxes there. They outnumber the Swiss living there who do.
Oh please! In all these countries their people make less money than us and everything is much more expensive then here, they simply cannot buy and consume as much as we do, they are not anywhere near to our great standards of living. We simply have the best standards of living in the world based on income and purchasing parity.
Go to any of these countries and try to buy clothes, eat in restaurants, buy a car, buy a house, fill your car with gas, purchase a computer, or simply order a Pizza and you will know that their people simply do not have even half of our standards of living.
I only know Switzerland. I lived there a decade. Virtually no one is poor. Everyone gets a decent chunk of money a month. No one has credit cards. People don't buy as MANY clothes or things, but what they have is usually fairly good quality. Everyone has 4-6 weeks vacation a year. People work longer hours but not as hard as Americans. People get paid fully for all sick days up to 2 years, yet rarely miss work due to illness (they tend to come in to work quite ill - I was in Human Resources there). Everyone spends a good part of the time engaged in outdoor sports or activities. It's as if the whole country were solidly middle class. It's not as socialist as most European countries, either.
I prefer the freedom and heterogenity of America, and I love my country very much. I love the American spirit and people. It's the best country in the world, despite all her faults.
Still, you cannot knock the average standard of living in Switzerland compared to here. "Here" is relative; we are a one-earner family in illegal-alien-soaked L.A. County. Our standard of living doesn't approach what it would be if we had the same job in Switzerland.
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