Do Americans Have What It Takes?

By Alex Hutchins

One of my first employers during my 45 year career told me not to bring him problems because they well really opportunities and when bringing those opportunities make sure that I also brought solutions with me...

That was great advice and I have thought that way ever since when it was just me bringing opportunities along with solutions...

But, this time, unfortunately, it is not that way because many Americans do not believe or perceive that we have any opportunities and therefore are in need of solutions here... because, we are, in fact, Americans...

And, I suppose if one wants to live like that with that belief that one certainly can do that... I mean, after all, it is a free country... however, for those of us who do not believe like that and are concerned about our current welfare, standard of living, and a positive future for our children, you might be interested in the following: according to the website, Ranking America, A site for Information about the U.S.,we find this when compared to the rest of the world...

The U.S. ranks 115th in linguistic diversity

 

 The U.S. ranks 1st in prisoners

 

The U.S. ranks 14th in education

 

The U.S. ranks 19th in national satisfaction

 

The U.S. ranks 44th in health care efficiency

 

The U.S. ranks 67th in slavery

 

The U.S. ranks 2nd in ignorance of social statistics

 

The U.S. ranks 66th in religious diversity

 

The U.S. ranks 17th in having confidence in President Obama

 

The U.S. ranks 3rd in global competitiveness

 

The U.S. ranks 60th in the cost of fast food

 

The U.S. ranks 13th in believing homosexuality should be accepted

 

The U.S. ranks 23rd in gender equality

 

The U.S. ranks 33rd in internet download speeds

 

The U.S. ranks 1st in women Olympic figure skating gold medals

 

The U.S. ranks 46th in freedom of the press

 

The U.S. ranks 13th in disapproval of marital infidelity

 

The U.S. ranks 30th in folk religions

 

The U.S. ranks 24th in foreign born

 

The U.S. ranks 26th in child well-being

 

The U.S. ranks 24th in literacy

 

The U.S. ranks 19th in perceived honesty

 

The U.S. ranks 27th in leisure and personal care

 

The U.S. ranks 1st in the super rich

 

The U.S. ranks 134th in prevalence of slavery

 

The U.S. ranks 17th in happiness

 

The U.S. ranks 8th for having a nice old-age

 

The U.S. ranks 99th in peacefulness

 

The U.S. ranks 1st in locking people up

 

The U.S. ranks 9th in retirement security

 

The U.S. ranks 1st in wine consumption

 

The U.S. ranks 96th in adolescent fertility

 

The U.S. ranks 1st in plastic surgeons

 

The U.S. ranks 23rd in wage distribution

 

The U.S. ranks 10th in purchasing power of minimum wage

 

The U.S. ranks 11th in minimum wage

 

The U.S. ranks 125th in GDP growth per capita         Source:

Actually, the list is longer than what I copied here but I simply got tired of cutting and pasting because it was easy to see, if you believe the data, that America is certainly not like it used to be and is certainly not that better off than the rest of the world.



And, even if this list were only 50% accurate and correct, wouldn't that still be enough to piss you off???



However, the US does rank 14^th in education because I previously wrote an article about that and made sure that data was accurate.



So, how could we as a whole let the individual parts get so far out of whack? And, do we care enough about the whole to do anything about it?



But, ya know... I think I already know the answer to that question, just like you already know the answer and it is the same answer that got us into this situation in the first place... isn't it?



How many of us want to admit that we were or are WRONG?



If I am never wrong then the other person or other opinions can never be right... But, if we are always right, then why are we like the way we are?



According to the website
2015 Index of Economic Freedom 
America ranks 12^th, behind:
Hong Kong
Singapore
New Zealand
Australia
Switzerland
Canada
Chile
Estonia
Ireland
Mauritius
Denmark



Economic freedom is the key to greater opportunity and an improved quality of life. It’s the freedom to choose how to produce, sell, and use your own resources, while respecting others’ rights to do the same. While a simple concept, economic freedom is an engine that drives prosperity in the world and is the difference between why some societies thrive while others do not. 
 
Economic freedom is important because it affects every aspect of an individual’s life. Living in a society with high levels of economic freedom leads to higher incomes, lower poverty, less unemployment, longer life expectancies, and cleaner environments, among a host of other benefits. More economic freedom improves well-being and leads to a higher quality of life.

I grew up in a sports minded family and I don't think we watched anything else other than the news and I played several varsity sports in high school but none in college however, I liked watching college as well as professional sports. I was a fan of the Washington Redskins and the Washington Senators before they were sold, the Dallas Cowboys and the Tennessee Titans. I was a fan of the Tarheels and followed Michael Jordan's career with the Chicago Bulls and watched Boston Celtics because of personal reasons.



During all those years of watching these types of athletic competitions, I formed the opinion by what I had watched that many games were won/lost in the last few seconds, therefore one should never give up until it is done. On the other side of the coin, I also came to realize that while some teams were incredible gifted with talented individuals and operated as a well-oiled machine from a team perspective that they just did not have the PUNCH at the end to win.



While incredibly sad, it is nonetheless very true.



So, here is the question that not only must be asked from a team perspective but also from an individual perspective as well:


Does America and do Americans have the PUNCH at the end to win globally?

Endnote: That is not to say that anyone should just give up because there will always be a place for individuals in the Global Marketplace... what this means, is that America has unfortunate as it may sound, has become what it once was not. And, while we may not see this in our lifetimes (over the next 20-30 years), the erosion will soon become just as obvious as the data now shows. Out global environment, our global marketplace will become a athletic and competitive battlefield where it is like Darwin said: Survival of the Fittest.