In her Feb. 19, 2009, article “Black President Doesn’t Solve All Inequity,” Angela Jones mentions that the U.S. was rated No. 1 in a U.N. Quality of Life study. The U.N. report that addresses the quality of life in various countries is called the Human Development Index (HDI). The index assigns a number based upon: a) life expectancy (as a measure of population health), b) education and literacy rate, and c) standard of living as measured by gross domestic product per capita (using adjusted purchasing powers, or purchasing power parity). In its 2007–08 HDI report, the U.N. places the U.S. 12th in a list of the top 30.

The only “quality of life” reference I’m able to find comes from the Economist Intelligence Unit, which I don’t believe is a part of the U.N.; its latest report places the U.S. in 13th place with a score of 7.615 out of 10.

It may well be that if one were to compile a HDI for white people only in the U.S., it may be that the U.S. would rank No. 1, but that would not qualify as a measure of quality of life in the U.S.

Fritz Domann
Professor Emeritus of Physics