Are Our Priorities Mixed Up?

I came across an interesting website called the OECD Better Life Index. OECD stands for Economic Co-operation and Development, which is a Paris-based organization that “promotes policies aimed at improving economic and social well-being globally,” according to Dinah Wisenberg Brin. This site compares 36 nations on several topics, including:

• Housing
• Income
• Jobs
• Community
• Education
• Environment
• Civic Engagement
• Health
• Life Satisfaction
• Safety
• Work-Life Balance

The OECD compares each of these areas and measures people’s priorities in each of these areas in these nations, according to Dinah Wisenberg Brin. Some of the findings that I found quite interesting include the top ranking in regard to priority in several areas:

Health – Switzerland

Safety – Japan

Environment – Sweden

Work-Life Balance – Denmark

Jobs – Switzerland

Income – United States

I also found the United States’ priorities interesting based on the Better Life Index, which are as follows, based on a scale of 1 to 10:

• Housing – 7.8
• Income – 10
• Jobs – 7.5
• Community – 8
• Education – 7
• Environment – 7.9
• Civic Engagement – 7.7
• Health – 8.4
• Life Satisfaction – 7.6
• Safety – 8.8
• Work – Life Balance – 5.7

I don’t know about you, but it seems like there’s something off with our priorities in this country…

Feel free to take a look at the Better Life Index and let me know what the most interesting facts are for you.