Britain Would Be Second Poorest U.S. State – Below Alabama: Euro Zone GDP Per Capita Ranks Below West Virginia

Fraser Nelson over at The Spectator has
crunched the numbers and finds that if Britain were somehow to
become the 51st state (OK by me) it would the
second poorest state in terms of GDP per capita, ranking below
Alabama and just above Mississippi.

Would-be Europhiles might also want to consider that the oil
state of Norway would rank 8th, Switzerland 21st, Germany and
Sweden would vie for 40th place (below Michigan), and the entire
Euro area would rank 45th just below West Virginia’s per capita
GDP. Ah, such are the glories of welfare statism.

Nelson was apparently prompted to make these calculations in
response to the smug condescenion of anti-American commentators
about U.S. economic inequality in the wake of the events in
Ferguson, MO. As Nelson notes:

No one beats up America better than Americans. They openly
debate their inequality, conduct rigorous studies about it, argue
about economics vs culture as causes. Their universities study it,
with a calibre of analysis not found in Britain. Americans get so
angry about educational inequality that they make films like
Waiting for Superman. And the debate is so fierce that the rest of
the world looks on, and joins in lamenting America’s problems. A
shame: we’d do better to get a little angrier at our own.

Speaking of smug condescension, it is well worth your time to
click over The Spectator and
scroll down Nelson’s rankings.