We're number ? !

Via InstaPundit, we learn that for the first time, the United States does not rank as one of the world’s ten most prosperous nations, as rated by London’s Legatum Institute. The authors of the report found that the U.S.’s slippage is being driven by “a decline in the number of US citizens who believe that hard work will get them ahead.”

During the past presidential election  Obama could not give money away fast enough to his various special interest groups classic example is the "Obama Phones".  The majority of his polices rewards those that take from society and punishes those that create jobs and grow the economy.  The Urban Institute-Brookings Tax Policy Center estimates that 46 percent of households will owe no federal income tax for 2011 and the 10% of households with the highest incomes pay more than half of all federal taxes. They pay more than 70% of federal income taxes, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

As the percentage of people continues to rise that receive government handouts the percentage of those willing to vote against any candidate willing to slow them down will drop. This is exactly what has happened to many socialist countries in Europe, they have borrowed so much to keep the hand outs going that they have finally ran out of credit to borrow any more. As the authors of the London report noted  , "a decline in the number of US citizens who beleive that hard work will get them ahead" unless policies change we too will run out of credit and then I wonder where we'll be on the list of "Most Prosperous Nations"?