U.S. falls in competitive stakes

America is now the fifth competitive economy in the world. The World Economic Forum dropped the U.S. one place in its rankings, putting America behind Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden and Finland. That somber news pushes the Marketplace Index down two points today.

This is the third year in a row that the U.S. has been downgraded by the WEF. The WEF cited wastefulness, burdensome regulation, lack of transparency in policymaking, and concern that the government might interfere in the private sector.

It’s not all bad news. The WEF said America boasts highly sophisticated and innovative companies, “supported by an excellent university system that collaborates admirably with the business sector in R&D. Combined with flexible labor markets and the scale opportunities afforded by the sheer size of its domestic economy–the largest in the world by far–these qualities continue to make the United States very competitive.”

And we’re still way ahead of China – it’s 26th.