The World Economic Forum has released the 2012-13 rankings of 144 national economies. These rankings indicate the national global competitiveness of the countries involved. Criteria for assigning these rankings include strength of a nation’s public and private institutions, the state of its infrastructure, the quality of education, its ability to foster innovation and several others.

The United States was ranked seventh and below the European countries of Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. This result appears to be at odds with Mitt Romney’s condemnation of the evils of European-style democratic socialism and its adverse effects on a country’s economy.

All of the European countries that outrank the United States in national global competitiveness have universal health care and in most cases many additional safety nets. How can it be that countries that in general adopt the dreaded European socialist model are more competitive than the United States?

Robert J. Boes

Ely