Compared to other wealthy nations, the United States is “woefully behind” when it comes to creating opportunities and possibilities for its citizens, the very essence of the so-called “American dream,” according to a study by Oxfam.
The unprecedented “American Human Development Report 2008-2009,” puts forward a statistical analysis of numerous factors linked to the well-being of its population, underpinned by issues relating to gender, race, state and even electoral district.
A surprising conclusion of the study is that the United States is the country that has the highest per capita expenditure, 5.2 million dollars per day, and yet still its citizens do not live as long as those in almost every Western European and Nordic nation.
Furthermore, the States has the greatest percentage of children living in poverty in comparison with other wealthy nations.
In 1990, a human development index placed the United States in first place; eighteen years later it has fallen to twelfth place.
The report was disclosed on the 16th of this month by the non-governmental organization Oxfam, which is supported by the Rockefeller and Conrad Hilton Foundations. It not only reveals that the United States lags behind other wealthy nations but also reveals huge gaps in terms of living standards and quality of life between the various states.
Sarah Bird-Sharps, one of the authors of the report, points out that “some Americans are between 30 and 50 years behind their compatriots in areas that affect all of us such as health, education and living standards.”
The average life expectancy of those living in the North Eastern state of Connecticut is 30 years older than that of those living in the Southern state of Mississippi. These states are at the extreme ends of this demographic indicator.
One not so surprising conclusion is that African-American men have the lowest rate of human development of all the social groups studied and the human development rate of those of Asian origin is 50 percentage points above.
The percentage of adults in the Southern state of Texas who do not hold a High School Certificate is similar to that of the seventies in the whole country.
The disparities within the Western state of California are so great that it has the five highest ranking electoral districts and the five lowest ranking in the country.
The study collected various information covering social, political, economic, environmental, housing, and transport factors, among others, in order to create a snapshot of the quality of life.
The information will help open up opportunities for citizens to exert pressure in order to gain improvements and to enable non-governmental organizations, foundations and local governments to direct their assistance to the areas where it is most needed.
The idea of putting together a human development index was inspired by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which carries out a similar study each year in all countries worldwide.
“The Human Development Index is unique,” explains the President of Oxfam, Raymond Offenheiser, “because it shows the interlinked factors which create or remove opportunities and determine life choices.”
He says “the report is particularly revealing in areas of the Golf of Mexico where we work with 34 organizations.”
‘The study clearly shows the difficult living conditions, such as limited access to education, low incomes and lower life expectancy, which residents of the area were experiencing even before the 2005 hurricanes. The study supports an integral solution to achieve recuperation’, he remarked.
The information collected reveals which public policies were successful and should be emulated and those that were unsuccessful.
The President of the Rockefeller Foundation, Darren Walker, indicated that ‘the information collected in the study can be used to improve upon the successful policies and create opportunities to benefit new generations of Americans’.
Steven Hilton, the director of the Hilton Foundation, based in Los Angeles, pointed out that his grandfather, Conrad Hilton, was the embodiment of the “American dream,” characterized by an enterprising and opportunity-creating spirit.
Conrad Hilton, who died in 1949, created the Hilton Hotel chain in 1919 and the Hilton Foundation in 1944.
“This study makes it clear that the American dream is in danger,” says Steven Hilton.
The Oxfam report was published with support from the Columbia University Press and the Social Science Research Council.
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