Embarrassing statistics about United States

The following are 15 statistics about the United States economy that are almost too embarrassing to admit...

#1 Ten years ago, the United States was ranked number one in average wealth per adult.  In 2010, the United States has fallen to seventh.

#2 The United States once had the highest proportion of young adults with post-secondary degrees in the world.  Today, the U.S. has fallen to 12th. 

#3 The economy of India is projected to become larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2050.

#4 One prominent economist now says that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.

#5 The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001.  Approximately 75 percent of those factories employed at least 500 workers while they were still in operation.

#6 The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.

#7 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.

#8 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of all U.S. economic output.  In 2008, it represented only 11.5 percent.

#9 The television manufacturing industry began in the United States.  So how many televisions are manufactured in the United States today?  According to Princeton University economist Alan S. Blinder, the grand total is zero.

#10 Between 2000 and 2009, America's trade deficit with China increased nearly 300 percent.

#11 Today, the United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 that China spends on goods from the United States.

#12According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if the U.S. trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate, the U.S. economy will lose over half a million jobs this year alone.

#13 American 15-year-olds do not even rank in the top half of all advanced nations when it comes to math or science literacy.

#14 The United States has the third worst poverty rate among the advanced nations tracked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

#15 Since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, the U.S. dollar has lost over 95 percent of its purchasing power.