Are You Smarter Than You An Eighth Grader? Population Intelligence From Around the World

Have you ever watched a world leader and thought that they were some sort of a buffoon or wondered how on earth they managed to become a head of state? Russia’s Boris Yeltsin is a good example. Not only was he a heavy drinker, but he always acted like he didn’t have a lick of sense as we say in the South. France’s Emmanuel Marcon is another example of someone who seems to be out of his league, but he’s far from the only one. 

Another individual was George “Dubya” Bush. He seemed to mess up nearly everything he did. Bush managed to graduate with a so-called “Gentleman’s C” which typically means a C-/D+. Barack Obama wasn’t exactly stellar either.  Not exactly what you’d expect for a U.S. President.

Congress is full of such individuals, and increasingly, we’re finding judges, governors, mayors, and local officials so lacking in intelligence that they shouldn't be out in public unsupervised or be allowed to hold sharp objects!

Are our euphemistically named “leaders” a reflection of the people they’re supposed to lead? Like me, I’m sure you’ve worked some place where those in charge were dumber than a box of rocks. Unfortunately, however, we are now living in a society where mediocrity is the norm. Anyone who excels or stands out is viewed with suspicion. 

Kids are routinely placed in sub-par schools where conformity is encouraged. Everyone is equally dumbed down so as to not “offend” lower performing students. As in sports, where everyone gets a trophy, so now in academics everyone gets a diploma whether they actually earned one or not. How else do you explain kids graduating high school with an 8^th grade reading and literacy level, a 7th grade knowledge of history, geography, or civics, or that just 37% were academically prepared for entry level college math and science?

At work, we try to do “just enough” and to keep our heads down. We just want to get through the day, collect our paycheck, and go home. If we can somehow slip through without the boss knowing our name, that’s celebrated as a personal victory. Questioning authority is seen as making waves or labeling you as a troublemaker.

Your fellow employees don’t like it because it brings unwanted attention their way and your supervisor doesn’t like it because it means they may  address yet another problem. If the average workplace had a color, it would be dull gray. Is it any wonder then that when we graduate so many underachievers we find ourselves in a milquetoast society?

The Nobel Prize was seen at the epitome of excellence (their prestige was damaged when they started focusing on political correctness over achievement as in the case of President-elect Barack Obama who was awarded the prize for…well…nothing actually). Nevertheless, the United States has the most laureates at 420. The next closest is the United Kingdom with 142 and Germany at 115. India has won 13. China has 8. Russia has 30, and Japan has 31.

The reason for America’s dominance has been well-funded research (mainly by the military and corporations), historic academic freedom, and our emphasis on mathematics and the hard sciences, the very areas where our schools are struggling today. As an aside, do you know which ethnicity has won the most Nobel awards? The answer is Jews. One in ten of all Nobel Prize recipients have been Jewish.

What nation owns the most patents? That honor goes to China according to the World Population Review. They report that China has some 798,347 patent grants. The majority of these are in the areas of digital communications, artificial intelligence, and computer technology (China has 70% of AI patent applications). Two other areas with a high number of patents filed are medical and renewable energy technology.

As for the United States, we have a distant 323,410 of all patents granted. Japan and South Korea are next at 201,420 and 135,180 respectively. India rounds out the top five with 30,490.  It bears mentioning that Asia leads the world with the number of patents filed, accounting for 68.7% of all patents filed globally.  Of that, 70% came from China. It also holds the majority of the world’s trademarks. Not shabby China. Not shabby at all.

In addition, women account for 17.7% of the inventors as indicated on the patent applications, up from 10.9% in 2009. Most of their inventions pertain to the biotechnology and food chemistry industries. It's odd then that some countries view women as third class citizens; as being inferior and therefore makes it criminal for them to be educated or try to reach their maximum potential. 

Given the aging population, especially in the West, another question of interest is which countries have the most number of medical doctors per capita. At first blush, you would think the U.S., China, or India given their population density. Well, you’d be wrong. The nation with the most doctors based on percentage of their population is Cuba which has almost 94 doctors per 10,000 residents. In fact, Cuba is very well known for sending its physicians abroad, especially to poor and developing countries.

Sweden has almost 72 doctors per 10 thousand individuals while Belgium has 64. Greece has just over 63 doctors per 10,000 people. Norway has roughly 52. By comparison, Russia has 38 physicians for every 10 thousand. In India, the world’s largest populous country, its only 7.27. It’s 25 in Canada and just slightly better in Mexico with 25.6. In the United States, the number is 35 physicians for every 10 thousand.  Lastly, in Africa it’s mostly under 10 physicians for every 10 thousand with the majority of countries having under 2 doctors per 10 thousand.

As a side note, the U.S. Northeast has the most number of active doctors with New York producing the most. The majority of doctors in the U.S. are White or Asian. The fewest number are Black. Most of the applicates to medical school are foreign born, with most coming from India, Pakistan, the Caribbean, the Philippines, and Mexico.

Finally, the overwhelming majority of doctors come from upper income families. 75% of doctors comes from families whose incomes are in the top 40%, and of those, 30% are from families in the top 5% income bracket! The high cost of a medical degree (and subsequent debt) make it nearly impossible for applicants coming from poor or working class backgrounds----just 5%---to succeed.  Maybe that explains the “God complex” some seem to have.

All of what we’ve discussed so far presupposes one thing---intelligence. So, what countries tend to have the highest IQs? It’s long been said that education is the key to success. However, that’s just one factor. Opportunity and financial means are also critical. However, none of it matters unless you have the intellectual aptitude.

The average IQ score is 100, be it an individual or a nation. These results are only “best guess” averages, extrapolated from a percentage of the population since, after all, you can’t test everyone in a nation! Secondly, since we’re dealing with entire populations, obviously no country will measure as “genius” or “gifted”, but some are certainly above average.

China has the highest overall IQ of any country with a national average of 107.19, which would be pretty decent for an individual. South Korea was second with 106.43, just beating out Japan with 106.40. Surprisingly, Iran was fourth. It’s average was 106.3. Singapore was fifth with an average national IQ of 105.14.

Russia came in sixth with an estimate national IQ of 103.16. Mongolia, Armenia, and Australia were nearly tied at 102.86, 102.58, and 102.57 respectively. Canada was 101.65 while Thailand’s average IQ was 101.52. Luxembourg had the global average IQ of 100, followed closely by Iceland at 99.99.

Vietnam’s national IQ average was 100.12. Greece was 100.07. The United States came in 30^th place with a national IQ of 99.74, just barely beating out Czechia which had an estimate national IQ of 99.73. The UK’s was 99.68. Germany’s average IQ was 99.64. As an aside, the national IQ for France was 101.42, putting them in 17^th place (yes, we got beat by the French!). Mexico's was 95.52.

The highest estimated IQ in the Middle East belongs to Lebanon with 99.39, putting them in 37^th. Israel was next, in 45^th place, with an average IQ of 99.07, tying Turkey. Other Middle Eastern countries were the UAE with an average of 96.8. India was 99.08. Egypt’s average national IQ was 97.21, Kuwait was 95.02, and Algeria had an estimated IQ of 97.01.

Among the nations of South and Central America, Uruguay’s and Ecuador’s national IQs were near identical at 95.01 and 95.00 respectively. Chile’s was 95.38. Argentina’s IQ was an estimated 94.39 and Brazil’s was 92.92 with an IQ of 93.17 for Columbia. 

In Africa, South Africa had the highest with an estimated national average of 94.11. Kenya ‘s IQ was 91.22. Zimbabwe was 90.21 compared to Ghana with 90.25. The Ivory Coast was 88.42, Senegal’s average national IQ was 88.27 and the Congo was 88.01. Angola’s estimated national IQ was 85.33, and in last place at 126 was Gabon, whose average IQ was 85.08. The average IQ for a sub-Saharan African is 80.

It should be mentioned too that overall, IQ scores worldwide have been on the decline, reversing a trend of rising scores throughout much of the 20^th century thanks to better nutrition and healthcare, more access to schools, quality education (and discipline) better qualified teachers, and generally secure environments needed to foster learning. This decline (known as the “Reverse Flynn Effect”) first started appearing in the late 1970’s and accelerated in the 1990’s.

The most notable regions of decline has been in Scandinavia, which had long been noted for producing a highly intelligent population. The UK, France, and the United States has also seen a decline in IQ scores. Latin America has remained largely stable while Africa has seen some improvements. Asia, on the other hand, has experienced stable IQ scores or in some cases, a significant rise.

Studies have shown that the decline in IQ scores have been most prevalent in the areas of mathematics, logic, and verbal reasoning. The significance of this is that these are the very areas needed for an advanced technological society as well as in medicinal research. Spatial reasoning, however, has actually improved. Could that be from playing so many video games?

It should come as no surprise that Asia’s dominance in academic testing and it’s rising IQ scores correspond to its growing dominance economically, especially in the areas of AI, technology, and communications. If the West is to remain competitive, it must reverse this trend by demanding academic excellence from its schools, including restoring discipline in the classroom and an emphasis on academic rigor. Excuses will no longer cut it. Additionally, we must accept that not every job requires a college degree. Most only need individuals who had 12 years to master the basics. Trades schools are another area seriously lacking our attention despite high demand, good pay, and low debt.  

Countries like South Africa and Iran have made serious social blunders while Europe is caught in an ever tightening spiral downward thanks to political weakness (that can be said of Canada as well). Africa has the resources but it lacks the infrastructure and leadership thanks to petty graft and prejudices.  Latin America has the potential, but does it have the will? That remains to be seen. In the interim, it appears that the Sun is rising ever higher in the East.  

 

 Thank you for reading "Another Opinion", the Op/Ed blog page for the "militant middle".  Here at "A/O" we truly value our readers. At A/O we seek the facts as they exist, not partisan talking points.  We hope you find our articles informative and engaging. Comments are welcome, provided they are not vulgar, insulting or demeaning.  Another Opinion is offered without charge and is directed toward all independent and free-thinking individuals. We ask, however, that you "like" us on whatever platform you found us on in order to keep our articles available for free to others. Lastly, in order to keep costs down, we depend on passive marketing, and therefore, depend on our readers to please forward our posts along. Below you will find links to the sources we used in writing this article. Thank you. 

 

Nobel Prize by Country 2025

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/nobel-prizes-by-country

 

Patents by Country 2025

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/patents-by-country

 

 

Here’s the top 10 countries who filed the most patents globally

https://www.patentrenewal.com/post/herere-the-top-10-countries-who-filed-the-most-patents-globally

 

 

AI Patents by Country Revealed: The Top 15 Countries Dominating the 2025 Landscape

https://arapackelaw.com/patents/ai-patents-by-country/

 

Doctors per Capita by Country 2025

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/doctors-per-capita-by-country

 

 

Average IQ by Country (2025 Update)

https://www.thecaliforniacourier.com/average-iq-by-country-2025-update/

 

 

American IQ Scores Have Rapidly Dropped, Proving the ‘Reverse Flynn Effect’

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a43469569/american-iq-scores-decline-reverse-flynn-effect/

 

American IQs rose 30 points in the last century.  Now they may be falling

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3922608-american-iqs-rose-30-points-in-the-last-century-now-they-may-be-falling/

The State of U.S. Healthcare

America has one of the lowest ranked healthcare systems of an developed nation anywhere in the world despite being one of the most expensive. Among the top seven most industrialized nations, the U.S. is ranked dead last.

When it comes to life expectancy, America comes in at 47th among 201 countries. We average 79.4 years of age, with women living to be around 82 while men tend to live to age 77. Although that sounds pretty good, it's actually considered pretty low when compared to some of the top ranked nations such as Italy where the average age is 84.20 or any of the Scandinavian countries where most people live to around 83 years of age.

So, with the United States ranking among the lowest developed nations in terms of healthcare, who are at the top? The top three are all Asian countries, namely  Japan, Macao, and Hong Kong with overall life expectancies of 84.95, 85.51, and 85.83 respectively.  

The majority of top tier industrial nations are also in the top 20. The few exceptions include China in the 52nd spot with an average age of 78.79, Poland in 54th place with a expectancy of 78.60, and Saudi Arabia at 60th with a average expectancy of 78.10.  It should be noted that in every instance, women outlive men by an average of roughly ten years.

In terms of infant mortality, America again ranks last. The average is currently 5.4 per 1000 births, making us the highest of any top tier country. It's worth noting that as of 2021, the U.S. spent 17.8% of its  Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on healthcare, which is two times that spent by any other top industrial nation.

The primary reasons cited  is poor prenatal care such as smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, failure to take proper medications, and improper diet. Other factors include the high rate of cesarean sections as well as high rates of poverty which contributes to other health problems such as obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. 

In addition, the groups most affected tend to be minorities, especially Native Americans, Black Americans, and Hispanics (as an aside, these same groups also tend to have the lowest life expectancies). 

When it comes to prescription prices, the U.S. spends more per capita than any other top tier nation. On average, we spend $1000+ per person annually on prescription drugs while average in other top tier nations is just $552 per person. At the same time, three in four Americans report being unable to afford the price of their medication. Spending on medication from 2004 through 2019 increased 69% in the U.S. while elsewhere it increased by just 41% on average.

Why is that? In part, it's because prescription drugs are, on average, nearly three times more expensive for a given drug than in any other country. A Humira Pen, for instance, used to treat inflammation in diseases like arthritis, averages nearly $5000 dollars per injection while in other industrial countries the same pen would cost about just under $3000 dollars.  The result is that many Americans are forced to chose to either do without or to ration their medication which often means not taking them as prescribed.

Another key reason is the emphasis of the healthcare industry on treatment (and thus writing more prescriptions) and less of emphasis on prevention. It also worth pointing out in other industrial nations, doctors are less time restricted when it comes to treating patients while in the U.S. physicians are typically capped at 15 minutes per individual and follow a quota system. The result is a focus on profitability and less on the long term welfare of the patient.  As the expression goes, "a cured patient is a lost customer".  

In addition, the United States also ranks at the bottom when it comes to the availability of hospital beds, and subsequently the length of the average stay of a patient. In the U.S. there are approximately 2.8 hospital beds available per 1000 individuals.

In terms of long term care, the costs per patient is the fourth  lowest at $924.00 dollars per patient. Italy is the cheapest at $422.00 dollars per patient, followed by Australia and Japan. The UK is next after the U.S. at $952 dollars. The most expensive costs per patient for long term care is the Netherlands at $1,858.00 dollars. Also among the most expensive are Sweden, Switzerland, and Germany at $1,567.00, $1559.00, and $1,445.00 respectively.

Among the other top industrial nations, that number is 4.3 beds per 1000. The lack of beds obviously affects the length of an average hospital stay. In the U.S. the typical patient is in the hospital for about 4.8 days (only the Netherlands is less, at 4.7 days). In Canada, Germany, and Switzerland is roughly 8.5 days. In France it's 9.1 days, and in South Korea it's a whopping 19.1 days! Can you imagine eating hospital food for nearly three weeks? Blah!

Lastly, we need to look at how the United States compares other industrialized countries when it comes to the availability of physicians. Based on the latest data, which is from 2019, the U.S. has least number of practicing physicians of the top 13 industrial nations.

The U.S. has just 2.6 doctors per 1000 individuals. That compares to France where the ratio is 3.2 per 1000. Australia has 3.7 per 1000 while Germany and Switzerland has 4.3. In Austria that number is 5.2 doctors available per 1000 potential patients. 

As an aside, the American healthcare system has more nurses than does comparable healthcare systems worldwide, and while the U.S. has more hospital staff than other nations, the majority of them are clerical/non-medical administrative personnel.  

As a result, the U.S. is tops when it comes to medically related administrative costs; an average of $925.00 per patient compared to an average of $204.00 among the top wealthiest countries. Sweden and Japan by comparison spend just $70.00 dollars per patient.

Lastly, what about quality of life? According the World Population Review, Northern Europeans clearly have the highest quality of life. In fact, the top ten nations are almost always include the Scandinavian countries of Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, along with Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

As for the United States, we currently rank 20th in the world, just behind Spain. You'll note that the countries with the highest quality of life also tend to have the longest life expectancies and the better healthcare.  

What does this say for the United States? The majority of the countries which rank higher than the U.S. in terms of life expectancy, healthcare, prescription prices, and so forth all focus on prevention first followed by treatment. They also place a greater emphasis on the overall wellbeing of the patient and less on meeting quotas or cost per patient ratios.

The majority of the countries follow a decentralized national healthcare system which is available to all its citizens. The healthcare is government managed with about 75% - 85% of the costs paid by tax revenue collected at the local and national levels. Prescription prices are often negotiated by the State rather than insurance companies or hospitals to ensure the best quality at the lowest cost.

Dental coverage for children are typically free while adults can buy dental insurance which is often subsidized by the government. There is also cost sharing between the patient and state based on the patient's income with costs being capped overall.  The costs of various medical services such as ambulances are typically bore by the State.

Hospitals and medical practices are given various financial incentives to improve efficiency and productivity. As stated previously, the State also encourages health conscious lifestyles such as regular exercise, longer vacation times and extra time off for "mental health", healthy diets, while encouraging cessation to bad health behavior such as smoking, poor diets and obesity.  

Free clinics can be found nearly everywhere, which is in part to help encourage males to seek treatment (men are notoriously for not wanting to get checkups, thus contributing to their higher mortality rate). Maternity leave is typically paid and extended to include the fathers as well.

The American healthcare system is a primarily profit driven enterprise with an emphasis on treatment and less on prevention. That has to change. While Americans are keenly tax adverse, a single payer tax system provided by the government would go a long toward improving overall healthcare, lower costs in the long run, and ensure health coverage for all, which would reduce costs now picked up by taxpayers.   

It would have the added benefit of allowing small businesses unable to afford health coverage for employees to compete with larger companies who can. Insurance can still be purchased by those looking for additional coverage.

Finally, doctors and medical professionals need to spend more time with patients and focus more on care and less on quotas. There also need to be more emphasis on mental illness treatment, which would go a long in alleviating some of the homeless problems facing communities today. Government funded research must pay along costs savings to the public. In addition, each state should negotiate prescription prices with the manufacturer to ensure patients receive the lowest cost possible for their medicine.

Meanwhile, there needs to be an additional effort made by the State and employers to encourage healthier lifestyles, including perhaps providing free or low costs classes in dietary choices, exercise, mental health, prenatal care, growing gardens, and so forth. 

 

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Healthcare in the Nordics

America's State of Freedom: How Do We Compare?

There has been much discussion recently about the decline and pending fall of the American Empire, but how much of that is actually true? Is the United States as we know it tittering on collapse? Well, let's take a look at some of the studies, surveys, and polls to see where the U.S. currently stands on a number of key issues.

First up is freedom. After all, that's what we're known for ---"land of the free and home of the brave" right? According to the independent and non-partisan World Population Review, the top ten freest countries in the world are Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark, Estonia (yes, the former Soviet Republic), Ireland, Finland, Canada, Australia, Sweden, and Luxembourg.  Wait. What? No United States in the top ten?  Nope.

Actually America comes in 15th place, just behind the UK and ahead of Japan and Germany. Also ahead of us are Iceland, Norway, and the Netherlands. The ten least freest countries are all in the Middle East and Africa (with the exception of Venezuela). Some include Egypt, Somalia, Iran and Iraq (naturally),Yemen, and the Sudan. 

Americans are known for their rugged individualism. It's the staple of practically every Western movie and TV show ever made.  Individualism, and with it our rights to personal freedom are at the core of what it means to be an American. So would it surprise you to know that the U.S. isn't in the top ten (again)? It's not even in the top 20 when it comes to personal freedom.

The United States has become a neo-fascist Corporatocracy. It's run (or managed if you prefer) by a relatively small clique of uber wealthy oligarchs (sometimes referred to a kleptocrats). These corporations and individuals have done their best to gradually impinge on our individual freedoms under the guise of "national security" (creating a surveillance state) and giving "personhood" to corporations.

So, the fact that we aren't in the top 20 shouldn't come as any surprise to you.  The countries with the greatest amount of personal freedom are all the "socialist"  Scandinavian countries as well as Japan, Australia, Ireland, Canada, Taiwan, Latvia and the Czech Republic (both former Soviet satellites),  the UK and others.

When it comes to personal freedom, the United States ranked an embarrassing 24th in the world. We are just behind Italy and ahead of Uruguay and Spain.  In terms of economic freedom, we did much better, which you'd expect with us being an Corporatocracy and all.  However, we're still not in the top five.

The top four most economically free are the Pacific nations of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand. Switzerland rounds out the top five. Coming in sixth place is the former Soviet republic of Georgia with the U.S. in the seventh spot. Ireland, Lithuania (another former Soviet state), and Australia rounding out the top ten. It's worth noting that most of the countries which ranked high in personal freedom ranked in the bottom half of the top 20 freest economic countries.

In looking at a report by the conservative Heritage Foundation for 2022, it's worth noting that the top economically freest countries are Singapore, Switzerland, Ireland, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Taiwan, and Estonia. The Netherlands, Finland, and Demark finish the top ten. 

The United States comes in 25th place between the UK and Georgia in the lower half of the "Mostly Free" column. We also became a debtor nation in 1985. An early warning? Germany was 16th and South Korea was 19th. The Ukraine was 130th while Russia was 113th. Both are in the "Least Free" section.

As an aside, America is also listed as a "flawed democracy". I've mentioned that this and other independent media sites are often "shadow blocked", so it should be no surprise that Reporters Without Borders should rank freedom of the press in the United States as barely satisfactory. In fact, the U.S. is ranked 43rd in the world. There are actually some third world nations ranked higher the U.S.!

Education has been called the "road to success" (or as John Wayne once said, "life is hard. It's harder if you're stupid). Either way, I have to agree. Education not only provides the individual with the keys to success, it also largely determines the success of a nation.

America has long struggled academically when compared to the rest of the world although we tend to spend more private and tax dollars on education than any other country. According to a 2021 academic report, the United States had the best overall educational system in the world followed the UK, Germany, Canada, France, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

When it comes to science and math, we ranked near the bottom of the second tier of developed nations. In the latest 2018 test of OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development),  we scored 478, which was below the average score of 489. The top five highest scoring countries were all Asian (Singapore, Macao, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan).

In science, we did a little better, scoring just above the OECD average of 489 with a 502, but was well below the top five countries of Singapore (551), Macao (544), Estonia (544), Japan (529), and Finland (522).  In literacy, we ranked at about average with Denmark coming in first.

Another indicator of our decline is healthcare. You would think that with the resources that the United States has our healthcare would be second to none. Sadly, the U.S. has one of the worst healthcare systems of any industrial nation. While the world's overall life expectancy has continued to rise (it was 82 years old in 2020), it was 77 years of age in the U.S..

Meanwhile, mortality rates in the America have remained higher than in other OECD nations despite a general decline overall due to improved technology and medicine. The mortality rate in the U.S. dropped from 1980 to 2020 by 19% while for other industrial nations the drop was 43%.   

Early or premature deaths due to diseases and disabilities were also higher in the U.S. than elsewhere. In fact, they were roughly 37% higher. In 2019 (the latest record) non-age related deaths due to disease or disability were 26,061 per 100,000. The global average was 18,987. 

The United States also had the highest infant mortality rates of any OECD country as well with just under 24 deaths per 100,000 live births. The next closest country was Canada with 8.4 per 100,000. The Netherlands and Australia had the lowest with 1.2 and 2.0 respectively. The world average was 4.5.

Where we did well was with heart attack and stroke treatment. Using 2018 data for individuals age 45 or older over the first 30 days following the event, the mortality rate per 100 in the U.S. was 4.9 compared to 5.9 among industrial nation.. For strokes it was 4.1 versus 6.4, and for hemorrhagic (bleeding) strokes the mortality  was 19.4 as opposed to 20.7 globally.

But when it came to asthma, COPD, congestive heart failure, and diabetes we had mixed results. In measuring mortality rates per 100,000, the U.S. had 37.1 deaths related to asthma compared to an average among industrialized nations of 34.7. For diabetes, the U.S. had 226 versus 137.5.

However, with COPD we had 194.1 with 228 among comparative nations. When it came to congestive heart failure, the average among industrialized nations was 272.3. The U.S. had an appalling 411.7. There are 2018 figures, which are the latest measurements.

Finally, the United States ranks last when it comes to access to medical care and quality compared to other industrialized nations with the Netherlands, Australia, Sweden, Japan, and Austria in the top five spots.  It should also be noted that the U.S. places far less attention on preventative care and alternative medicinal treatment. There are fewer beds available in hospitals than in other OECD nations.

The United States also has among the highest prescription costs of most any nation in the world, which is attributable to its poor medical care coverage. The majority of nations have some form of nationalized (or "socialized" medicine if you prefer), resulting in lower costs and faster recovery but occasionally longer waiting times for non-life threatening treatment.

One component to having a long and healthy life is having a high overall quality of life. So how does the U.S. rank? As has been the trend for many years now, those "socialist" nations of Scandinavia have not just a better education system, better health care and higher life expectancy, they also have the highest quality of life, but they're not the only ones!

Sweden ranked number one, followed by Denmark, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand.  Other top nations include Ireland (#16), Japan (#14), and the UK (#12). As for the United States, we came in at #21, just behind Italy and Portugal but ahead of Poland and Singapore. By comparison, China and the United Arab Emirates are #24 and #25 respectively.

It's no secret that the U.S. has highest percentage of its population behind bars than any industrialized nation with an average of 625 individuals per 100,000, or to put it another way, with the U.S. having roughly 5% of the world's population, we have 25% of it behind bars. The states with the highest percentage incarcerated are Louisiana and Oklahoma. 90% of those behind bars are men.   

Following the United States is China, Brazil, India, Russia, and Thailand with the most number of people in jail (China and India dwarf the U.S. in terms of population). Israel and Bahrain have the least number of people behind bars. When examining the highest rates of incarceration based population, the U.S. again is number one followed by Rwanda, Turkmenistan, El Salvador, and Cuba.

In terms of voter approval, of the top 11 foundational institutions which support the federal government, only the military and small businesses have positive numbers. Congress consistently polls terrible. The disapproval rate for Congress is currently hovering around 77%.  In other countries their numbers would be concern for a revolt or revolution. In fact, 43% of Americans believe a civil war or revolution will occur within the next ten years.  

President Joe Biden has a disapproval rate of 51.4% while his Vice President, Kamala Harris, has a disapproval rating of 48.7%. The approval rating for former President Donald Trump is 55.7%, which seems to prove that persistent negative campaigning (aka "character assassination) works.

Meanwhile, only 30% of Americans approve of the direction the country is going in.  74% of Americans are sick and tired of bi-partisan bickering and finger pointing, including 78% of Independents, 82% of Democrats, and 68% of Republicans.  The average American has a consumer debt of nearly $100,000 while corporate CEOs earn approximately 324 times more than an average employee.  In 2020, the average corporate CEO made $670 dollars for every dollar an average employee earned.

As an aside, both corporate owned parties---Democrat and Republican---are losing more voters than gaining. Independents remain the largest political bloc and continues to grow while the Democrats and GOP battle over a shrinking piece of the political pie. Americans in large numbers disapprove of corporate lobbyists writing legislation, partisan gerrymandering, partisan offices, Citizens United while supporting citizen ballot initiatives, term limits, voter approval for tax, fee, and rate increases.

A country, no matter how large or developed, can't sustain numbers like these indefinitely, and yet that's exactly what Congress, the Presidency and Big Business expect. We continue to bolster corporations with taxpayer money and cut taxes for the rich while Americans struggle to make ends meet. In terms of poverty levels among OECD nations, America is third behind Costa Rica and Hungary.  

It's clear that the ruling Oligarchy will do nothing that impinges upon their growing control on power beyond smoke and mirrors. When citizens see no hope for real and meaningful change; when their propaganda or bread and circuses no long work, what then?  

 

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World Population Review: Freest Countries 2022

2022 Index of Economic Freedom

Press Freedom Index

U.S. Education Rankings Are Falling Behind the Rest of theWorld

How does the quality of the U.S. health system compare toother countries?

U.S. Healthcare System Ranks Last Among 11 High IncomeCountries

Incarceration rates by country

Quality of Life

FiveThirtyEight: Polls

Congressional Approval Rating

Americans are sick of lawmakers bickering. They don't have much hope that will change

Wage gap between CEOs and US workers jumped 670-to-1 lastyear, study says

Poverty rates in OECD countries as of 2019

Big Pharma: A Monopoly in Need of a Cure

 In last week's article we discussed some of the monopolies which dominate the American economy, and by extension, Congress, the Judiciary, and the Presidency.  While powerful, especially the financial sector, perhaps none are currently more powerful than Big Pharma. Just how big and powerful?

While we get to that in just a moment, but consider this. 70% of all Americans are dependant in some way, be it medicine or medical equipment, on what Big Pharma says we need. For the majority of that 70%, what they receive is critical to their overall health and even their very survival.

So, just who is "Big Pharma" anyway? Names such as Bayer, Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson and Johnson are household names we're familiar with, particularly thanks to the Covid pandemic. However, many others are simply unknown except through their products which are extensively marketed.

 Starting in reverse order with the tenth largest and most influential global pharmaceutical company (all revenue is from 2020) is Sonfi, the French manufacturer of Zantac, Plavix, and Ambien, reported just over $41 billion dollars in revenue. Next is Pfizer, whose revenue was about $42 billion. Bristol Myers Squibb racked up $42.5 billion dollars. GlaxoSmithKline was seventh with $43.5 billion dollars.

In sixth place was Janssen, which is part of Johnson and Johnson. Their revenue in 2020 was $45.5 billion dollars. AbbVie, the maker of Humira, made $45.8 billion dollars. Merck earned a under $48 billion. Novartis, a Swiss producer of drugs such as Ritalin, earned its shareholders $48.6 billion dollars. Second place belongs to Roche Pharmaceuticals (a division of the Roche Group), manufacturer of Valium, and also a Swiss company. It's revenue for 2020 was a staggering $49.5 billion dollars.

Finally, the top earner in 2020 was a state owned Chinese company named Sinopharm, whose revenue was $50.4 billion dollars. Sinopharm is headquartered in Beijing China. It's official name is the China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation, a holding company for China National Pharmaceutical Corporation, China National Pharmaceutical Industry Corporation, the China National Pharmaceutical  Foreign Trade Corporation, and the China National Medical Device Corporation.

 In 2009, Sinopharm merged with China National Biotec Group. You may be more familiar with their subsidiary---the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products. Sinopharm is known for R&D and the production vaccines, included the widely distributed BIBP vaccine which is being used in the treatment of Covid-19. Other leading companies which didn't make it into the top ten included AstraZeneca (12th), Eli Lilly (14th), Bayer (16th), or Novo Nordisk (17th).

As an aside, Moderna is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company focusing on RNA therapeutics and vaccines dealing with the immune system. It's only commercial product to date is the Moderna Covid 19 vaccine.

In the U.S., the deepest pockets belong to six companies, Eli Lilly with a market value of $98 billion, GlaxoSmithKline with $103 billion, Merck has a market value of $164 billion, Pfizer $212 billion dollars, Novartis at $273 billion, and Johnson and Johnson with a market value of $274 billion. 

It's worth noting the Big Pharma doesn't spend the majority of its substantial profits on developing on medication or devices. In fact, marketing receives 19 times more funding than development, all to provide you, the customer, with that nice warm and fuzzy feeling you get watching one of those homey  "one of us" commercials on TV, radio, in print, or social media because they care.

Going further, the top 14 U.S. pharmaceutical companies spent a combine $31 million dollars just on lobbying Congress in the first quarter of 2021. Pfizer alone spent $3.7 million.  The trade association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturing spent 8.6 million on Congress for that same quarter.

That doesn't include the millions they spend on wooing doctors, pharmacists, dentists, optometrists, hospitals, nursing homes or rehab centers, nor does it include money spent on medical associations, professional medical unions, colleges, seminars, or trade shows hawking their latest wonder drug or medical devise. After all, where did you think all those "samples" or other medical items (include anatomical displays and posters) you see at the doctor's office come from? 

Lastly, they spend millions yearly cultivating what they call "thought leaders" in the medical and pharmaceutical field. Thought leaders are individuals who widely respected locally, regionally and nationally that are used to promote various drugs or devises to other professionals in the medical industry. This is often the reason physicians recommend one pill or product over another. These "thought leaders" are usually very well compensated for their endorsement with trips to fancy getaways for "seminars" (all expenses paid), honorariums, and other very nice perks.

In 2020, 2/3 of Congress cashed a check from Big Pharma. The majority of money, 7.1 million, went to Republicans while Democrats received 6.6 million, but that's still just part of the story. Big Pharma spent $263 million dollars in 2021 lobbying Congress. Every member of Congress had a minimum of three lobbyists from Big Pharma knocking on their door. What were they trying to buy?

Big Pharma abhors the idea of the Federal Government passing legislation capping prescription prices (and who can blame them with a captive market of 70%?). They equally hate the notion of allowing individuals to shop around for their prescriptions in places like Canada or Mexico (where they often cite a lack of quality or oversight) and elsewhere.

The truth of the matter is that the quality of these drugs, if bought from reputable companies, are the same or better than here in the U.S.. The main difference is that the price of drugs are four times more expensive in the U.S. as they are elsewhere, and that's just the way Big Pharma likes it.

Lobbyists for Big Pharma don't always focus on every legislator. Often, they'll concentrate on key committee members who have the clout to either push through a piece of legislation (which they wrote), or just as importantly, has the ability to keep other pieces of legislation they oppose tied up in committee. This is thanks to Congress's rigid hierarchy, but also to the extensive and always up-to-date research they compile of not just every legislator, but also their key staffers.  They often know beforehand who they can count on and who they can't.

The top influence buyers are Starkey Hearing Technologies, which gave around $564,000 to members of Congress; the majority of which went to Republicans. However, Masimo Corporation (maker of medical devises) gave all of its $533,714 to Democrats. Pfizer split its $487,000 equally between the two parties. RAAS Nutritionals gave all its $400,000 to Democrats.

Other donors included Abbotts Labs which donated slightly more of its $284,000 to the GOP. Johnson and Johnson did just the opposite with its $275,000. Eli Lilly gave most of its $214,000 to Democrats too, as did the remaining top 20 donors.

The top Big Pharma lobbyist for 2021 was the trade association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers, Inc which gave $22,903.000 (mainly to Democrats), dwarfing the other four leading lobbying organizations, whose donations hovered between $7 and 9 million each.

Big Pharma has fought to keep the conversion of name brand drugs (like Bystolic, which is used for controlling difficult to maintain blood pressure) from becoming generic because that would substantially lower prices and effectively remove that drug from their inventory, which affects their bottom line.

Therefore, pharmaceutical companies make minor changes in their drug patients (in what's called "evergreening") to extend their control over various drugs and keep prices artificially high. "Evergreening" is something some member of Congress would like to see, but not so Big Pharma.

Speaking of generics, it's worth noting the very little new drugs are actually developed in-house by some of the major drug makers. Using a 2017 annual report, STAT, which analyses the biomedical, pharmaceutical, and medical industry, looked at 62 new products belonging to Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson (44 for Pfizer and 18 for J&J).  Out of the 44 new products, only 10 were developed by Pfizer and two of Johnson and Johnson's 18. 

In looking at the drug market in general, 81% of all new developments came from outside sources. Typically one of the big pharmaceutical companies will acquire the rights to the new drug and sit on it without ever developing it for the market or, alternatively, will "lease" out the patent for research purposes.

At this point you are probably wondering who is suppose to keep Big Pharma in check. Well, the answer is (at least theoretically) the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But all is not as it seems. The role of the FDA is to monitor the pharmaceutical and medical industry while verifying its claims, help regulate prices, and approving any new drugs brought to the public market. Additionally, the FDA is partially funded by this same industry through user and other fees.

However, with decades of cutbacks in funding, the FDA has now come to rely on those it regulates for its operational budget. Big Pharma provides 75% of the FDA's funding of its drug review budget. In effect, since the drug and other companies control the purse strings, the FDA has become all but impotent.

Should the FDA attempt to push back or exert to much control, all the drug companies has to do is reduce, delay, or stop introducing anything which generates a fee in order to have an impact.  As a result, in December of 2021, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform released a very revealing report about the clout of Big Pharma and its influence over the FDA.

For instance, the prices of the top leading 12 drugs used by Medicare recipients increased 250% simply by using various market strategies to avoid conversions to generics to minimize competition as well as "hiding" real profits and extending their monopoly over these drugs by decades. Furthermore, these same 12 drugs are now priced at over 500 times what they were when they were first introduced to the market.   

The same report also discovered that the top 14 drug companies spent $577 billion dollars on stock buybacks and dividends over the last previous five years, which was $56 billion more than was spent on research and development. These same 14 companies also received millions in taxpayer based grants and subsidies designed for the development of new drugs, not to mention huge tax breaks.  

So, what does this mean for you and me? It means simply that the medical industry, like any other industry, is largely confined to a few very wealthy and influential corporations whose first loyalty is its officers and shareholders. It also means that the care of the patient is often secondary to the profit made from some pill or device. A cured patient is a lost customer. Lower prices are lost profits.

Big Pharma will continue to peddle its influence in the halls of Washington, and closer to home in state legislatures while it has a pill for every ill to sell to us, real or imagined. Professional medical associations are often motivated by the bottom line to move patients through like an assembly line.

The more patients seen the greater the billable hours and drugs or whatever else sold. Meanwhile insurance companies second guess doctors in order to minimize costs, overriding recommendations even to the point of harm to the patient.

Western medicine, unlike in the East, is focused mainly on the treatment of symptoms and outcomes, whereas in Eastern medicine the focus is on prevention first. Medical professionals in the West tend to ignore natural or homeopathic cures, which may take a little longer, has fewer (if any) side effects, preferring what some call "controlled poisons" whose potential side effects can be worse than the illness.  Sadly, we can say the same about Big Pharma, whose profit over patient side effects are killing America.  The ancients saw healing as a gift from the gods. Today it's big business and profit.

If you want to know more, please take a look at the links below. If you enjoyed the article, please consider passing along to others and don't forget to subscribe. It's free! Lastly please be sure to "like" us on Facebook or whatever platform you use to read A/O. It helps with the algorithms and keeps our articles in circulation.

 

Pharma 50: The 50 largest pharmaceutical companies in theworld

STAT: Do large pharma companies provide drug developmentinnovation? Our analysis says no

Pharma campaign Cash Delivered with Surgical Precision

The Biopharmaceutical Industry Provides 75% Of The FDA's Drug Review Budget

OpenSecrets: Pharmaceutical and Medical Products

Frustration with a Failing Democracy

 

It's often been said that you can tell the political condition of a country by looking at its infrastructure. Well, if that's true, then we should be in  ICU on life support with a minister preparing to read us our last rites.  America currently has approximately 4 to 6 million miles of road which are in need of dire repair at a cost of some $2 trillion dollars or more according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. That includes 73,000 bridges which are deemed "structurally deficient",  meaning they're unsafe.

In addition, there are 600,000 bridges over 20 feet in length which are pretty sketchy too. They add that at the current rate of disrepair, we may have reached the stage where our roads will decline at a faster rate than we can repair them.

The decline in the quality of America's roads doesn't reflect the increasing congestion, which leads to more accidents or poor air quality due to car and truck emissions. Some believe additional tolls would cut down on the congestion and provide additional revenue.

However, studies by the Department of Transportation have shown that while they help, they come nowhere near covering the costs to actually fix the problem. Another example of government's "Band-Aid" approach.  What the United States needs to do is invest more in energy saving mass transit such as electric light rail, trams, and trolleys, as well as electric or biofuel public transit like other industrial countries have done.

While we're at it, the U.S. also has one of the least efficient national electrical grids in the world. Currently, our national power grid covers some 7 million miles and produces around $4 billion dollars of electricity. It's the largest power source of its kind on earth. Bigger than Russia's and bigger than China's, and yet it struggles to keep up with demand, not to mention its vulnerability to terrorist cyber-attacks.

Adding to the problem is that multi-billion dollar companies like Google, Facebook, Walmart, and others are bypassing state and local utilities and going direct to producers, which deprives local municipalities badly need tax revenue.  Local governments stymie competition by giving energy producers a monopoly over electrical output. In some cases, local government is also the sole stockholder (this also applies to water too).

Municipalities also encouraged legislation to cap or limit the percentage that individuals who generate "excess" electricity through the use of alternative sources can sell back to local utilities or remove themselves from the local grid, making it all but impossible to "disconnect" from the grid.

Energy experts say that it would take an estimated $1 trillion dollars minimum just to bring our energy needs current, and make it both more efficient, and environmentally friendly. Rest assured that the public will pay for it one way or another. Meanwhile, rates keep going up with nearly 100% approval from public commissions and boards which are suppose to review rate requests and protect the public. But what do you expect when you have former energy executives on these boards?

However, what is needed to fix the problem, is practically unthinkable to most politicians and government bureaucrats---more taxes. Americans already feel they are grossly overtaxed as it is. On average, about 30% of the average American worker's wages goes to pay taxes. While that sounds like a lot, the average worker's tax rate, according to the 37 member OECD, is 34.6%, which puts the U.S. among the 30 lowest taxed country among industrial nations.

While individuals in other nations pay more in taxes, they typically also get more in return. Specially, better education for their children and themselves, Asian and European countries tend to be at the top of the list, especially in the areas of science and math, and yet we tax more per student than these same countries.

Speaking about kids, a 2020 report from UNICEF on child poverty placed the U.S. 34th among 35 countries along the worse with roughly 20% being "food insecure". Blacks and whites were about equal while Hispanics were slightly higher. Asian children had the lowest rates of child poverty. Single women with children was by far the worse off.

Another report, this one from the Congressional Research Services dated April 14, 2021, showed that the poverty rate among adults 80 and over was just around 13.6% (it was highest among single women). For those 65 to 69, it was 8.4%, and 7.4% for those age 70 up to 74. From 75 to 79, the poverty rate was 9.2%.

Worldwide, the highest poverty rate among seniors was in South Korea, with nearly half of those 66 and older living in poverty. Next was China with 39%, followed by the U.S. Where seniors fared the best was in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, France, Germany, the UK, and Japan.

We need to reinvest in this country, which means improving our infrastructure. It means becoming less dependent on fossil fuels. Corporate industries, not the public, should fund cleanups and restore the environment. We should stop penalizing research and innovation into alternative energy sources or renewable material. That same goes for people who use solar panels, water barrels, windmills, or plant local or community gardens.   

Education should be restructured to educate. Not to cater to the latest political cause, be it liberal or conservative. Every child must master the fundamentals---writing, reading, grammar, and math--at their grade level. They also should be taught to balance a checkbook and keep a household budget. No more placing the blame for a child's inability to learn on their race. If they fail, then they fail and should repeat the grade.

 Education should be honest. That means teaching the facts and both sides of social issues. They must  be taught critical thinking skills. They'll need it in the real world. Discipline is must. There can be no learning without it. Lastly, not everyone is college material (or will play professional sports). That's fine. Provide an alternative route such as the trades.

They should also be taught that while degrees in Women's Studies or "African/Black Studies", and philosophy sound good and noble, they aren't likely to get a job with them. They'll have a unemployable degree and staggering debt. So, pick a major where there's a demand, and then, maybe, minor in one of those other noble sounding programs.

Our children are increasingly coming under the control of the State, be it federal or local. They want to eliminate the parent.  I suspect that if they could take them straight from the crib, they would. Of course, their argument is that most parents aren't willing to take an active role in their children's upbringing, let alone their education, for one reason or another so "someone" has to.  

The most cited reason is that children are being raised by someone other than the parent (like a aunt/uncle or grandparent) or that one of the parents is absent and/or have a unstable home environment, which brings me to the next point. We must reexamine our social safety net and remove or modify those items which reward parental absenteeism.

Finally, we need to ensure that neither our children nor our seniors are "food insecure". There is no excuse for it in a country as resource rich as America. We throw away more food than some countries consume.

Along the same lines, we can do a heck of a lot better when it comes to medical care.  Did you know that we're the only industrial countries in the world without some form of national healthcare? "Obamacare" was a sophomoric try, but at least it was an effort. Personally, I think single payer coverage is a much more reasonable way to go, and potentially cheaper too.

Through a combination of corporate, public, and individual participation, a basic coverage could be given to all U.S. citizens. It could allow employers and the public an opportunity to buy additional insurance from the marketplace. We also need to regulate the healthcare industry as whole to curtail outrageous fees and prescription prices. This could be done by allowing the government to set caps on prescriptions as well, and allowing purchases from approved companies located outside of the U.S.. Even allow some procedures or services to be paid for in cash. 

There should also be a change of focus. The countries which rank higher than us in terms of healthcare have a different focus for instance. Here in the States, we concentrate on post treatment or reactive care, whereas other countries focus on preventative care which keeps people healthier longer and lessens the severity of illnesses so that everyone benefits. Some even make use f alternative treatment and medicines like herbs or time off for "mental health".   

While this may sound bleak (and it is), there is still a silver lining. We have the ability to fix these and other problems. We also have the resources. All that's missing is our resolve to do it.  The best place to start is at the bottom; that is, at the local level. That's where we can have the best impact. Most communities already have food banks or after school tutoring available, and speaking as a community organizer of over 40 years, I can assure you that they love volunteers.

If you can't do it in person, consider doing online volunteering. There's lots of programs available. Better yet, start one if you can't find one you'd  want to join. Attend board and commission meetings, be it school board, zoning, water, or energy. The majority are open to the public, and it's a great way to get your feet wet!  

With a little research for the rules and regulations in your area, you can also start petition campaigns. Attend community meetings which are typically held monthly by local politicians. Start a "letter to the editor" campaign. If you own as little as one share of stock, you can attend their shareholder board meetings, which usually allow up to 15 minutes to address the board (though you're actually speaking to other shareholders in attendance). That's plenty of time to expose what they're doing and ask for change.  

You could even run for office, but if you do just remember that both parties are owned by corporations, and they don't like reformers despite what they claim in their commercials. Therefore, if you're going to be a "boat rocker", count on doing it mainly by yourself, and hopefully, with family and friends support. Parties often promise money and other support to their candidates. Unless you're already a big name, don't hold your breath, especially if they think you're serious about change.  

Instead, you'd be better off lobbying sitting politicians (regardless of their party) on behalf of your neighborhood, community, or a focal issue. Be sure to brush up on what you can and can't do as a citizen lobbyist.  I've found this route to be the most rewarding.  Besides, they can be a little more cooperative when they know you aren't after their seats.

America is at war, but it's not against Al Qaeda, the Taliban, or even Russia or China. This war is one between a corporate and government partnership which is neo-fascist in character and led a group of very wealthy individuals and corporations against us; the ordinary citizen and voter. The object of the war is the creation of surveillance state with the possibility of occasionally acting like a police state.

This new system, which is called an Corporatocracy, will create its own image which we will be conditioned to identify with. Wars will be fought for "freedom" or some other emotionally charged word, while in truth it will be about corporate access to markets or control of assets and resources.  Our loyalty will be defined by products we choose rather than to our nation. We will be encouraged to focus on video games, reality shows, or work and to leave politics to our intellectual and social betters who know what's best for us.

They want a compliant workforce which is just smart enough to do their jobs and nothing more. They want control of every aspect of our lives. To get that, they must divide us every which way they can. They will control our children in order to forge new generations of worker drones who will rely on the State without question. That means rewriting history and the future. We're already seeing that with the removal of statues, censorship of books, and curriculum taught to our children.

Don't expect it to stop until we've forgotten the truth and bought into their manufactured reality. It can be stopped. I've given you some pointers above. The question then becomes, will we?

 

How 35 countries compare on child poverty (the U.S. isranked 34th)

CRS Senior Poverty Rates