A new report released this week by the American Human Development Project, ranked the U.S. 12th in the world in human development, and revealed a wide disparity in development potential between ethic groups and regions.
Source: The Measure of America / Courtesy of the American Human Development Project
According to Oxfam America, a sponsor of the report, “The Measure of America: American Human Development Report 2008-2009,” published by Columbia University Press and the Social Science Research Council, some of the key findings are:
- In Texas’ 29th Congressional District, the percentage of the adult population with less than a high school degree is at about the level of the U.S. average in the early 1970s.
- Among the nation’s 436 congressional districts, New York’s 14th District (in Manhattan) ranks first and California’s 20th District (around Fresno) ranks last; the average resident of New York’s 14th District earns more than three times as much as the average California’s 20th District resident.
- Nationally, Asian males have the highest human development index score and African American males the lowest, with a staggering 50-year gap between the two groups.
- Despite the fact that the United States spends roughly $5.2 billion every day on health care, more per capita than any other nation in the world, Americans live shorter lives than citizens of every Western European and Nordic country except for one
The report was funded by Oxfam America, the Conrad Hilton Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Filed under: Health & Poverty, Perspectives on Poverty, United States | Tagged: healthcare, life expectancy, poverty
