Study Finds America Is The Second Worst Place To Raise A Family

America is taking hit after hit.

According to new research conducted by the travel site, Asher & Lyric, the United States has been named the second-worst wealthy nation to raise a family.

“The first time I looked at the data, I was in disbelief,” stated co-founder Lyric Benson-Fergusson on the findings in the “Raising a Family Index” (RAFI). The Los Angeles mother of two created the site with her Aussie husband, Asher Fergusson to help people ““stay safe, healthy, and happy at home and while traveling.”

The site rated 35 countries that belong to the Organization for Economic and Development  forum from most to least based off safety, happiness, cost, health, education, and time.

The U.S. placed second to last, right before Mexico, a country riddled by drug cartels that have run amok during the pandemic. The top rated countries included Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

“I think if we, as Americans, are truly honest with ourselves, we might understand why the United States ranks solidly as the second-worst country to raise a family,” said Benson-Fergusson.

The U.S. ranked last when it came to time, which was measured off of maternity leave, vacation days, and other factors. As well as cost which was gauged by out-of-pocket health spending, cost of living, income ratio and more. Not too surprising since the U.S. is the only country that doesn’t mandate employers to offer maternity leave. Sadly, the average American household blows 31.79% of their income on childcare compared to the 4-10% spent by Scandinavian nations.

According to the New York Post, the most surprising revelation was the discovery of the U.S. second to last place regarding global safety, once again right before Mexico.

Although statistics prove a decline in crime, America’s homicide rate is still eclipsed only by Mexico. However, America takes the lead in school shootings, with a total of 288 incidents from 2009 to 2018, while Mexico places second with a reported 8 and all other countries at zero, the study reports.

As for human rights, America came in fourth-worst, which was defined broadly across several categories which included “protection against enslavement, the right to free speech and the right to education.”

The couple blamed the nationwide mood dip in America based off the income disparities that exist within the nation, 20% of American citizens suffer from mental illness annually and the suicide rate increased by 33% between 1999 to 2017.

“I have come to the heartbreaking conclusion that America is a deeply challenged and troubled country,” Benson-Fergusson lamented. “It doesn’t, and maybe never did, line up with its own ideology.”

“My aspiration is that something will substantially change in my children’s lifetime,” she said.