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I think this has to do with the Great Recession. Prolonged economic insecurity is associated with a poor mental health. And that is in turn associated with self

I think this has to do with the Great Recession. Prolonged economic insecurity is associated with a poor mental health. And that is in turn associated with self medication with things like alcohol and opioids. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4741013/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4741013/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4151244/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4151244/

zaroth 7y ago
That would be a quite a laggy effect at this point. The US has been having it’s longest continuous period of economic growth ever.
- danans 7y ago
  Growth on Wall Street isn't growth on main street, and huge corporate and big investor profits (and associated cash hordes) haven't meant economic recovery in the places and communities hardest hit by the opioid epidemic.
  - refurb 7y ago
    Growth on Wall Street isn't growth on main street Of course it is. Where do you think main streets pensions and 401k are invested? Where do you think main street people work?
    - tezzer 7y ago
      Only a third of Americans -have- a 401k, and only 13% have pensions.
    - maximente 7y ago
      most equity is held by the richest americans, while others primarily depend on wages which haven't risen in decades, basically. also most people aren't employed by large business. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us... https://www.huffpost.com/entry/five-big-myths-about-amer_b_866118 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/five-big-myths-about-amer_b_8...
      - refurb 7y ago
        Wages are only one part of compensation. Total compensation has increased faster than inflation over the past decades.
        fucking_tragedy 7y ago
        Health insurance costs have increased faster than inflation for decades and is responsible for the total increase in compensation[1]. Workers are not getting more or better benefits. They're getting the same or worse benefits, it's just that health insurance costs for the same plans increase each year at a rate that vastly outpaces inflation. [1] https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BF-AU065A_INSUR_9U_20170919122105.jpg https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BF-AU065A_INSUR_9...
        refurb 7y ago
        That's true, but it also contradicts the claim that compensation isn't going up. Sure it's going towards ever more expensive healthcare, but it is going up.
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
        maximente 7y ago
        you seem to have both shifted the frame from wages to compensation then defeated a non-existent claim about it, so that seems like a mighty straw man.
- fucking_tragedy 7y ago
  > The US has been having it’s longest continuous period of economic growth ever. Cost of living and healthcare costs are skyrocketing and have outpaced inflation for decades. Wages are stagnant, and benefits are rare for those who are working. Yes, if you have significant investments, you're benefiting handsomely. If you have thousands of dollars of student debt, can barely afford health insurance and are making much less than your parents did at your age, things don't look so good from that perspective.
  - zaroth 7y ago
    > Benefits are rare for those who are working ~70% of employees receive health insurance benefits. [3] And unemployment has never been lower. Since 2010 the unemployment rate for young workers has dropped steadily from nearly 20% to about 8%. The lowest ever recorded was 7.8%. [1] Real median household income has also risen sharply since 2010. [2] Please don’t move the goalposts to something like “the economy is perfect for everyone”. In the context of “is the Great Recession” responsible, I am merely stating a recession ending over 10 years ago followed by the longest period of economic growth the US has ever seen, just seems like an unlikely candidate as a potential cause. [1] - https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/youth-unemployment-rate https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/youth-unemploymen... [2] - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N [3] - https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ebs2.pdf https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ebs2.pdf
    - fucking_tragedy 7y ago
      Your second source is giving an error. > ~70% of employees receive health insurance benefits. From your third source: > For part-time workers, access to medical care benefits was 21 percent and the take- up rate was 56 percent. Post-2008 recession saw a restructuring of employment. I know plenty of college graduates who are saddled with debt and are scheduled to work slightly less than full-time hours in order to sidestep having to be offered benefits. Nearly 80% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck[1]. 40% of Americans can't cover a $400 emergency expense[2]. Wages have stagnated for most Americans since the 1970s[3]. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/01/11/live-paycheck-to-paycheck-government-shutdown/#3f64b8944f10 https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/01/11/live-pa... [2] https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/22/pf/emergency-expenses-household-finances/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/22/pf/emergency-expenses-house... [3] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us...
adventured 7y ago
I'm curious why the broad result is also showing up in UK as another example (the opioid deaths in the US are making its situation even worse). There must be something in common occurring: "Life expectancy progress in UK 'stops for first time'" https://www.bbc.com/news/health-45638646 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-45638646 "Life expectancy falls by six months in biggest drop in UK forecasts" https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/07/life-expectancy-slumps-by-five-months https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/07/life-expecta... "Why is life expectancy faltering?" https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/23/why-is-life-expectancy-falling https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/23/why-is-life-...
- NeedMoreTea 7y ago
  The UK has "enjoyed" nearly 10 years of post 2008 austerity, destroying services, reducing spending on health, education, social care, everything really. Health waiting lists have risen to the highest levels for decades, mental health care has essentially become dysfunctional. The resultant effect on life expectancy isn't surprising. For the UK at least, it's policy. The main alternative political party spends more time making itself unpopular than opposing the government, or we may have voted in a change years ago.

zaroth 7y ago

That would be a quite a laggy effect at this point. The US has been having it’s longest continuous period of economic growth ever.

danans 7y ago
Growth on Wall Street isn't growth on main street, and huge corporate and big investor profits (and associated cash hordes) haven't meant economic recovery in the places and communities hardest hit by the opioid epidemic.
- refurb 7y ago
  Growth on Wall Street isn't growth on main street Of course it is. Where do you think main streets pensions and 401k are invested? Where do you think main street people work?
  - tezzer 7y ago
    Only a third of Americans -have- a 401k, and only 13% have pensions.
  - maximente 7y ago
    most equity is held by the richest americans, while others primarily depend on wages which haven't risen in decades, basically. also most people aren't employed by large business. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us... https://www.huffpost.com/entry/five-big-myths-about-amer_b_866118 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/five-big-myths-about-amer_b_8...
    - refurb 7y ago
      Wages are only one part of compensation. Total compensation has increased faster than inflation over the past decades.
      - fucking_tragedy 7y ago
        Health insurance costs have increased faster than inflation for decades and is responsible for the total increase in compensation[1]. Workers are not getting more or better benefits. They're getting the same or worse benefits, it's just that health insurance costs for the same plans increase each year at a rate that vastly outpaces inflation. [1] https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BF-AU065A_INSUR_9U_20170919122105.jpg https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BF-AU065A_INSUR_9...
        refurb 7y ago
        That's true, but it also contradicts the claim that compensation isn't going up. Sure it's going towards ever more expensive healthcare, but it is going up.
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
        maximente 7y ago
        you seem to have both shifted the frame from wages to compensation then defeated a non-existent claim about it, so that seems like a mighty straw man.
fucking_tragedy 7y ago
> The US has been having it’s longest continuous period of economic growth ever. Cost of living and healthcare costs are skyrocketing and have outpaced inflation for decades. Wages are stagnant, and benefits are rare for those who are working. Yes, if you have significant investments, you're benefiting handsomely. If you have thousands of dollars of student debt, can barely afford health insurance and are making much less than your parents did at your age, things don't look so good from that perspective.
- zaroth 7y ago
  > Benefits are rare for those who are working ~70% of employees receive health insurance benefits. [3] And unemployment has never been lower. Since 2010 the unemployment rate for young workers has dropped steadily from nearly 20% to about 8%. The lowest ever recorded was 7.8%. [1] Real median household income has also risen sharply since 2010. [2] Please don’t move the goalposts to something like “the economy is perfect for everyone”. In the context of “is the Great Recession” responsible, I am merely stating a recession ending over 10 years ago followed by the longest period of economic growth the US has ever seen, just seems like an unlikely candidate as a potential cause. [1] - https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/youth-unemployment-rate https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/youth-unemploymen... [2] - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N [3] - https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ebs2.pdf https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ebs2.pdf
  - fucking_tragedy 7y ago
    Your second source is giving an error. > ~70% of employees receive health insurance benefits. From your third source: > For part-time workers, access to medical care benefits was 21 percent and the take- up rate was 56 percent. Post-2008 recession saw a restructuring of employment. I know plenty of college graduates who are saddled with debt and are scheduled to work slightly less than full-time hours in order to sidestep having to be offered benefits. Nearly 80% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck[1]. 40% of Americans can't cover a $400 emergency expense[2]. Wages have stagnated for most Americans since the 1970s[3]. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/01/11/live-paycheck-to-paycheck-government-shutdown/#3f64b8944f10 https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/01/11/live-pa... [2] https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/22/pf/emergency-expenses-household-finances/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/22/pf/emergency-expenses-house... [3] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us...

adventured 7y ago

I'm curious why the broad result is also showing up in UK as another example (the opioid deaths in the US are making its situation even worse). There must be something in common occurring: "Life expectancy progress in UK 'stops for first time'" https://www.bbc.com/news/health-45638646 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-45638646 "Life expectancy falls by six months in biggest drop in UK forecasts" https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/07/life-expectancy-slumps-by-five-months https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/07/life-expecta... "Why is life expectancy faltering?" https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/23/why-is-life-expectancy-falling https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/23/why-is-life-...

NeedMoreTea 7y ago
The UK has "enjoyed" nearly 10 years of post 2008 austerity, destroying services, reducing spending on health, education, social care, everything really. Health waiting lists have risen to the highest levels for decades, mental health care has essentially become dysfunctional. The resultant effect on life expectancy isn't surprising. For the UK at least, it's policy. The main alternative political party spends more time making itself unpopular than opposing the government, or we may have voted in a change years ago.