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Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Nick Bunker — Rising U.S. mortality and its potential economic causes
Proliferation of communications technology and its use in entertainment — first TV and now digital devices — is resulting in decline in exercise and increase in body weight, which are known risk factors in disease. People are also spending more time sitting at work than in the past, too. and this is an additional risk factor.
Another factor is exposure to atmospheric pollutants and increasing toxicity in the food chain and food production process.
Precarity may be a factor but I doubt it is the only one.
Bob that's just Darwinism at work .... they just couldn't cut it.... survival of the fittest too bad for them..... they should have been more like John Galt. ...
Those are the possible alternative causes you advance:
"Proliferation of communications technology" "resulting in decline in exercise" "People are also spending more time sitting at work" "exposure to atmospheric pollutants" "Precarity"
Only white males aged 45-54 are affected. Why those causes don't affect other demographics: women, non-white, other age groups?
sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me...
"Death to America!"..... "Precarity"..... just words... what is the big deal?
These people should just suck it up already.... "unemployed"? its just words...
they can always obtain sustenance at the soup kitchen.... and walk there both ways to get healthy exercise... do some push ups... sleeping on concrete should toughen one up....
I'm at the older end of this cohort. Employment was often difficult, especially if you were a low IQ, low or moderately skilled worker (think manufacturing and building trades, etc). Offshoring and the Chamber of Commerce's immigration policy (open borders) screwed this group the most. These type of victims don't play as well with a significant number of liberals, so it's simply easier to blame the victim. To many of these folks, white men can't even be victims.
"...While white workers, particularly white men, are routinely denounced as “privileged” by the pseudo-left proponents of racial and gender politics, they have seen perhaps the most dramatic reversal in their conditions of life. Middle-aged blacks still have a higher mortality rate than whites, but the difference between the two groups is closing rapidly...."
I could easily be in this cohort but for help from family. I couldn't hold onto my corporate job, not because I was weak. But my personal values could no longer be reconciled with the organisations values. I couldn't stomach it after my kids grew up and became independent, so I walked out one sunny day.
I was supported by family while I retrained for something else I could stomach.... which is now being crapified by neoliberalism, but that's another story. How many of these people have no family support.
"Rising insecurity or couch-potato-itis?"
ReplyDeletecouch-potato-itis? What the heck are you driving at with that invective?
Proliferation of communications technology and its use in entertainment — first TV and now digital devices — is resulting in decline in exercise and increase in body weight, which are known risk factors in disease. People are also spending more time sitting at work than in the past, too. and this is an additional risk factor.
ReplyDeleteAnother factor is exposure to atmospheric pollutants and increasing toxicity in the food chain and food production process.
Precarity may be a factor but I doubt it is the only one.
An increase in suicides?
ReplyDeleteHey Mal we have soup kitchens out there what's your problem?!?
ReplyDeleteBob that's just Darwinism at work .... they just couldn't cut it.... survival of the fittest too bad for them..... they should have been more like John Galt. ...
ReplyDelete@Tom Hickey,
ReplyDeleteThose are the possible alternative causes you advance:
"Proliferation of communications technology" "resulting in decline in exercise"
"People are also spending more time sitting at work"
"exposure to atmospheric pollutants"
"Precarity"
Only white males aged 45-54 are affected. Why those causes don't affect other demographics: women, non-white, other age groups?
Precarity is easily the biggest factor and you know it Tom.
ReplyDeleteMal,
ReplyDeletesticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me...
"Death to America!"..... "Precarity"..... just words... what is the big deal?
These people should just suck it up already.... "unemployed"? its just words...
they can always obtain sustenance at the soup kitchen.... and walk there both ways to get healthy exercise... do some push ups... sleeping on concrete should toughen one up....
Matt,
ReplyDeleteI'm at the older end of this cohort. Employment was often difficult, especially if you were a low IQ, low or moderately skilled worker (think manufacturing and building trades, etc). Offshoring and the Chamber of Commerce's immigration policy (open borders) screwed this group the most. These type of victims don't play as well with a significant number of liberals, so it's simply easier to blame the victim. To many of these folks, white men can't even be victims.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/11/04/pers-n04.html
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bob.
ReplyDeleteThis:
"...While white workers, particularly white men, are routinely denounced as “privileged” by the pseudo-left proponents of racial and gender politics, they have seen perhaps the most dramatic reversal in their conditions of life. Middle-aged blacks still have a higher mortality rate than whites, but the difference between the two groups is closing rapidly...."
A job keeps people off the couch.
ReplyDeleteI could easily be in this cohort but for help from family. I couldn't hold onto my corporate job, not because I was weak. But my personal values could no longer be reconciled with the organisations values. I couldn't stomach it after my kids grew up and became independent, so I walked out one sunny day.
ReplyDeleteI was supported by family while I retrained for something else I could stomach.... which is now being crapified by neoliberalism, but that's another story. How many of these people have no family support.