As the United States marks its 250th Independence Day, a closer examination of global data reveals the nation is struggling to fulfill its constitutional promise to “promote the general Welfare.” Despite its significant resources, America appears to be underperforming in key areas of human rights compared to other wealthy nations.
According to findings by the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, a nonprofit that assesses human rights compliance worldwide, the U.S. is not meeting the basic standards of a decent life for its citizens, including healthcare, food, and education. This shortfall is persistent, with the U.S. lagging for over two decades despite its robust US$32 trillion economy.
Assessing Economic and Social Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights outline nations’ obligations to improve citizens’ welfare. Although the U.S. supported the 1948 Declaration and signed the Covenant in 1977, it has not ratified the latter.
Utilizing per capita GDP as a measure of resources, the U.S. is expected to perform better than lower-income countries. Yet, the country’s human rights scores, comparing to other OECD members, are disappointing.
Our research evaluates whether citizens receive essential services, irrespective of whether they are provided by the government or private entities. A perfect score of 100% indicates maximum resource utilization, while lower scores suggest potential for improvement.
Challenges in Health and Nutrition
The U.S. fares poorly in health outcomes, ranking lower than less affluent countries like Turkey and Hungary. While countries like Canada and Japan score 90% and 88% respectively, the U.S. stands at 80% in health provisions.
The country’s health scores peaked at 82% in 2012, largely due to the Affordable Care Act, but the COVID-19 pandemic reversed these gains. Future projections by the Congressional Budget Office suggest a decline in health insurance coverage, potentially affecting millions.
Regarding food security, the U.S. achieves only 81% of its potential, with 14.8 million women and 9.1 million men lacking consistent access to nutritious food. Despite economic growth, food insecurity has risen due to inflation and policy changes, notably in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Employment and Income Inequities
The U.S. records the lowest score among OECD countries in terms of fair income, achieving just 27% of its potential. Although job availability is comparatively better, extreme poverty and wage inadequacy remain significant issues.
Policy reforms, such as increasing the federal minimum wage, could elevate 46 million Americans above the poverty line. However, economic inequality has widened over the past 25 years, with wealth gains concentrated among the richest.
Educational Shortcomings
In education, the U.S. ranks 20th among OECD nations, with a 76% score. While access to education is relatively high at 90.7%, the quality, measured by student performance, lags at 61.3%.
The U.S., despite its vast wealth, falls short in transforming economic strength into broad-based welfare improvement. Recent policy changes in healthcare and nutrition indicate further challenges ahead. As the nation reflects on its founding ideals, the data highlights considerable progress yet to be made in fulfilling those promises.
