U.S. Slips to 7th in Global Competitiveness

Pretty damning, especially when the U.S. was ranked #1 in 2008, prior to Barack Obama taking office.  So much for the world’s infatuation with the President.  While the World Economic Forum doesn’t call him out by name, the problems identified point directly at his failed policies.  Wouldn’t be surprised to see this in an ad before too long.

From the Albuquerque Journal:

Dear America, Nobody Shouts ‘We’re No. 7′

For years it has been de rigueur for elected officials and candidates alike to bemoan the national debt, pegged last week at more than $16 trillion.

But the fiscal reality is that debt is more than a number people can’t get their heads around and politicians can’t come up with a plan to reduce. It’s a number that continues to push the United States down the list in national global competitiveness.

This year, we fell to seventh.

That’s a hard statistic to accept in a country that for decades has prided itself as a superpower.

Not when it comes to business and money. Seventh. It continues the nation’s downhill slide, from fourth in 2010-11 and fifth in 2011-12. In contrast, Switzerland ranked first for the fourth year in a row, followed by Singapore, Finland, Sweden, Netherlands and Germany.

The World Economic Forum rankings say America’s biggest weakness is a combination of the nation’s budget deficit, savings rate, inflation, government debt and credit rating, and is compounded by a lack of trust in government by the business community.

The rankings put the U.S. 54th out of 144 national economies in public trust of politicians and 76th in wastefulness of government spending and burden of government regulations. Considering the U.S. government’s inability to reduce its national debt, that’s generous.

What are the prospects this will get better?

GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney has provided little detail on how he would deliver on his promise to slash spending and balance the budget by 2020 if elected. In three and a half years President Barack Obama has declined to address exploding growth in entitlement programs for the elderly, poor and disabled yet has been unable to get his plan to increase taxes on upper-income earners through Congress.