[FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Tahoma,Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=+2]Americans are shrinking[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Tahoma,Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=+1]Height appears to be a useful measure of the well-being of a nation's citizens.[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1][SIZE=-2]Dateline: Sunday, January 06, 2008[/SIZE] [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1]by Linda McQuaig [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1]Many adjectives come to mind when thinking of how to describe Americans. But "short" probably isn't one of them. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1]We're used to the notion of the United States as the world's dominant power — a land of untold resources, wealth and consumption. And one reflection of this abundance is the fact that for most of the past 2½ centuries, Americans have been literally the tallest people on the planet. Feeding off the abundant wild game and rich agriculture of their vast new land, colonial Americans measured a full three inches taller than Europeans. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1]Not so any more. Compared to Europeans, Americans have effectively shrunk. Indeed, among all advanced industrial nations, Americans are now at the bottom end of the height scale. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1]And, no, it's not the influx of short Hispanics. The height pattern is the same for Americans even when the sample is limited to non-Hispanic, native-born Americans. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1]It seems to be a reflection of something more basic. According to an influential paper in Social Science Quarterly last June by economic historians John Komlos and Benjamin Lauderdale, "height is indicative of how well the human organism thrives in its socioeconomic environment." [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1]The relative shrinking of Americans on the world scene is perhaps then an indicator of something Americans are doing badly — not in Iraq, but right at home. And that something should be of more than passing interest to Canadians as we continue, consciously and unconsciously, to shape our economic and social systems with the US in mind. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1]Actually, Canada has traditionally been a blend of the US and European approaches. But in the last couple of decades, as we have focused increasingly on cutting taxes and have adopted the attitude that individuals must make it on their own in society, we've veered more closely to the US model. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1]We tend to view the low-tax, low-spending US model as simply the norm in the era of globalization. But in fact it is only the US norm. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Sans Serif][SIZE=-1]Europeans, particularly northern Europeans, have traditionally done things differently — imposing much higher taxes and delivering much more generous social programs that provide a striking array of benefits to every member of society. Contrary to our i[/SIZE][/FONT]http://www.straightgoods.ca/index.cfm
