LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

America tumbling down the rankings

Phil Ventura, Las Vegas

Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008 | 2:02 a.m.

Most Americans will be surprised that the infant mortality ranking of the United States has slipped again among all industrialized nations.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. now ranks 29th in the world for infant mortality, falling behind countries such as Poland, Aruba and now even Cuba. This shocking ranking is directly attributable to the failures of our health care system, and the CDC cites the lack of prenatal care for mothers who are among the 47 million uninsured Americans.

Americans might also be surprised to learn we rank 37th in health care among industrialized nations, 37th in life expectancy, and 13th for the number of people living below the poverty line, behind Thailand, Hungary and China.

The United States is “No. 1” in nothing but defense spending, consumer spending, debt and delusion.

We Americans need to get involved and take back our country from greedy chief executives and corrupt politicians. We need to move past the divisiveness and partisanship that have handcuffed our political system. Only then will we be able to move back up the ladder as world leaders.

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