A country’s standard of living is measured by fifty-three indicators, such as health care, education, employment, income per individual, equality of income amongst citizens , home ownership, transportation, environmental quality, life expectancy and even freedom of speech for its citizens. The higher a nation’s marks in these categories, the higher the standard of living. Conversely, an abundance of low wages, crowded living conditions, harmful environmental practices, poor transportation, political instability, low standards of education and health care, and government control of speech and information pushes a country’s ranking downward. There is one thing the list of ten countries below (compiled in 2008) have in common. All are countries with strong social safety nets funded almost entirely by taxes, taxes and more taxes. Nobody likes to pay them, but just maybe taxes aren’t all that bad after all…
- 1. Iceland
- 2. Norway
- 3. Australia
- 4. Canada
- 5. Ireland
- 6. Sweden
- 7. Switzerland
- 8. Japan
- 9. Netherlands
- 10. France
Loading ...
