Thanks, Mr. Bush . . . Uh-oh, Russia
Filed under: US Elections
The above chart from the Washington Post via the IMF shows that America's ranking on the world list of nations organized by per capita GDP has increased during the Bush years, from #10 in 1992 to #8 today. The U.S. is now #1 among all the major nations of the world, surpassing both Japan and Germany which formerly exceeded it, with only a few tiny exceptional countries ahead of it, countries that don't face any of the major socio-political challenges that confront the world's only superpower. Our per capita GDP has nearly doubled over the past decade and a half, equating to an astounding amount of new wealth given our already large economic base and huge population. And America has achieved this despite the obstacles of radical Islam and rising world oil prices; just imagine what we would have done without them! The chart also points out how the fortunes of the once awe-inspiring Japanese, who some claimed would dethrone the U.S. with their industriousness, have fallen.
Actually, it appears that the Post may have messed up the 2007 list a bit,since based on the figures it quotes Switzerland should be below Denmark and Sweden should be above the U.S., putting it in 9th place as per the IMF estimate for 2007, which is given on Wikipedia. But the point is that while the powerhouses Germany and Japan have stumbled, the U.S. has made progress to the point that it now stands alone atop the heap of large countries. "Mighty" Russia, by contrast, does not even make the top 50 world nations on that list, coming in at a lowly #54, well behind both Poland and Hungary, neither of which have the blessing of accidental oil revenues to boost their stats. Think the mythology of "purchasing power parity" changes something in Russia's favor? Think again. Russia is even lower on that list, coming in at #59 -- while the U.S. rises still higher, to #4 (as shown on the Wiki page, a University of Pennsylvania study, using different methodology than the IMF, puts us at a breathtaking #2, and Russia also slightly higher, at #52). How can anyone look at the following table and still believe Russia deserves a place at the G-8 table?
Purchasing Power Parity Per Capita GDP
(IMF's most recent data)
USA -- #4
Canada -- #12
UK -- #13
Japan -- #20
France -- #21
Germany -- #23
Italy -- #24
Russia -- #59
Economic attainment not only places Russia at a woefully inferior standard of living, but prevents it from matching the other G-8 nations in military expenditures as well. Russia's level of democracy is also, of course, abysmally lower than that of the other G-8 nations, as repeatedly confirmed by international ratings agencies, and it has a hostile relationship with NATO, of which all other members but Japan are members. In fact, these days it's no longer possible to discuss Russia as being merely "undemocratic" but instead words like "barbaric" and "savage" begin to seem imperative. As the Moscow Times reports:
Human Rights Watch has called President Vladimir Putin a "repressive" and "brutal" leader on par with the leaders of Zimbabwe and Pakistan. In its annual report on the state of human rights across the globe released last week, the rights watchdog said Putin had "crippled democracy" and succeeded in "silencing the media, shutting down civil society" and stifling political opposition. The report, released late last week, compared Putin to the leaders to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, among others, for "manipulating elections" to "legitimize his reign."
Instead of responding like a civilized, sophisticated nation and seeking to reform, Russia's response is childish, neo-Soviet denial. The MT reports: "Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday laughed off the comparisons of Putin to the leaders of third-world countries. 'We take this with a grain of salt because it proves that the report's authors don't know the reality and don't want to know it,' Peskov said."
Simply put, Russia is laughably unqualified for G-8 status and should be ejected, as presidential contender John McCain has properly demanded. Moreover, in light of the economic facts, Russia's policy of confrontation with the clearly dominant U.S. is quite obviously insane.
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