My favorite part of this is the invocation of “data” to prove the click-bait opinion that the US is just OK. Technocratic and anti-patriotic is precisely the NYT brand.
Of course, the most relevant data might be net migration (or attempted net-migration). After all, unlike the Soviet Empire, no one is proposing a wall to keep people in. But the beauty of technocracy is that the technocrats get to pick the metrics.
Similarly, when it comes to school choice one might think that economists would be persuaded simply by the fact that people choose schools to believe that those are likely better for them — revealed preference. But no. They demand test scores, integration measures, social-emotional learning scales, etc.. to judge chosen school quality. Keep measuring (more likely mis-measuring) until the technocrat can find the metric to show how your own better judgement is mistaken.
Jay P. Greene's Blog 
Is there any district in our fine land that has embraced – indeed encouraged and innovated – total choice? By that I mean any parent can choose any school, and on the flip side, any teacher can choose to work for any school?
Reformers in California are currently drafting a state-wide school choice initiative which will soon be submitted to the Sec’y’ of State to title & describe (no doubt we’ll need to go to court to challenge that), then we’ll be collecting signatures to get it on the 2020 ballot. All the money (your money) will go to the parents (your kids) to decide which school — charter, private, parochial, home-schools (your choice) would be best for their children. Since the average private or parochial school in CA is only $8-9K, the remainder of the money will stay in an ESA to be used for college or trade school. $5K x 13 years — $65K — the cost of a 4-year-degree at UCLA incl. room and board.) Provides a much better education, provides savings for college (no college debt!) and doesn’t cost the taxpayers a dime. Creative destruction game-changer! Go to http://www.schoolcoice2020.org to get involved.
Vox says hold my beer:
Egads.
(Jay): ” … when it comes to school choice one might think that economists would be persuaded simply by the fact that people choose schools to believe that those are likely better for them — revealed preference.”
Yes. Thank you.
The NEA/AFT/AFSCME cartel’s Detroit franchise (Detroit Public Schools) lost over half its enrollment to charter schools after the Michigan legislature authorized the charter option. Defenders of the NEA/AFT/AFSCME cartel’s facilities, which many speakers of American English call “the public schools”, seem not to realize what their criticism of charter schools implies about the cartel’s facilities. Why did people leap from the upper floors of the World Trade Center? Because to remain in the burning building was worse than jumping.