Just a couple of decades ago, it could be argued based on objective data that the United States was the best country in the world to live in. However, according to a recent study published by the Social Science Research Network, America is not what it used to be. In fact, based on the 2015 Social Progress Index (a measure of 52 social indicators), the u.s. is now just the 16th best country in the world to live in, behind countries such as Iceland, Japan and Finland.

Just a couple of decades ago, it could be argued based on objective data that the United States was the best country in the world to live in. However, according to a recent study published by the Social Science Research Network, America is not what it used to be. In fact, based on the 2015 Social Progress Index (a measure of 52 social indicators), the U.S. is now just the 16th best country in the world to live in, behind countries such as Iceland, Japan and Finland.

Worsening income inequality means the U.S. is not the best country in the world to live in any more

The Gini coefficient (or Gini index) is a well-known measure of income inequality. It goes from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (all wealth is held by one person). Countries with the most serious problems of income inequality in 2014 based on the Gini Index are Chile (Gini = .501), Mexico (.466), Turkey (.411), United States (.38), and Israel (.376) .

In a study in 2014, Altman argues the problem is not just about income inequality. He argues that distribution of wealth may be a better measure of actual economic power than distribution of income. Looking at distribution of income, the top 10% of the population controlled 20 times more wealth than the bottom 50% in 1992, by 2010, this number has surged to to 65 (Altman 2012).

Presidential candidate Sanders of Vermont (Independent) recently stated: “The American people are angry; they are hurting; they are sick and tired of Wall Street and the very rich becoming richer while the middle class disappears.”.