On average the population in The United States as well as in other developed nations have experienced during the past decades substantial gains in longevity. However, unlike other developed countries, life expectancy in the United States has recently declined for three years in a row. The decline for women has been relatively small. Their life expectancy averages slightly over 80 years. But men have been very hard hit. Life expectancy for males has dropped from 78.6 to 76.1 years. Drug overdoses, suicides, and alcohol are among the most frequent explanations that the mass media offers to explain the decline in longevity. Typical of the media, the victims are being blamed. It is their bad habits and psychological problems that are shortening their lives.
Yet little or nothing is said about the underlying causes that precipitate their premature death. Particularly important, historical factors that have contributed to and shaped the current lives of Americans are for the most part ignored. It is as if history does not exist. Yet, the evidence shows that developments which go back many decades have contributed to the decline of longevity and to shorter life spans than in many other countries
Serious troubles confronting working people became evident in the early 1970s. Good jobs were being replaced by low wage and temporary jobs. Enormous numbers of jobs were being exported to low wage countries. Also, Unions have been taking a serious beating, which has been depriving many workers of any leverage on the job.
But what do these developments have to do with longevity? As two Princeton faculty members discovered several years ago that there was an unusually high mortality rate among whites age 45 to 54 who lacked a college degree. In contrast to whites with college degrees, who did not experience high mortality rates, the researchers found that the attachment of this group to the labor force was marginal and their wages low. And so they lost their sense of status and belonging. In turn, they experienced poor mental health. As their study found, pain and distress had built up over time. The researchers characterized the high mortality rate as deaths of despair. As many more good jobs continue to disappear, will college graduates also suffer a similar fate?
As distressing as it is that life expectancy has recently been declining, the prior years have not been good. On the contrary, the life span of American males is shorter in more than 30 other countries. Moreover, in contrast to American males, the average lifespan of males in 20 other nations are in the eighties.
Certainly the most important measure of health is life expectancy. On this issue we are lagging behind. The NY Times recently reported that the percentage of the population that lacks health insurance climbed in one year from 7.9 to 8.5 percent in 2018.
In fact, although Jeff Bezos, the billionaire who owns Whole Foods, signed a pledge last month that corporations should serve employees and the community, he nevertheless eliminated last week health benefits for 1900 Whole Foods part-time employees. Some of these employees have been working for the supermarket chain for as long as 15 years. It is likely that the considerable drop in health coverage for working people and their families will be reflected in a higher death rate.
Also according to the New York Times the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen. As a result, the purchasing power of low income families, which was already minimal, continues to decline. This too is very troublesome because poverty is a life threatening issue.
How to reverse current trends and advance the health and general well being of the country's population is certainly a pressing issue. Unless we develop strategies to successfully challenge the callousness toward human life what lies ahead for most Americans is very worrisome.
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