Posted on 04/13/2016 5:44:16 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Poverty in the U.S. is often associated with deprivation, in areas including housing, employment, and education. Now a study co-authored by two MIT researchers has shown, in unprecedented geographic detail, another stark reality: Poor people live shorter lives, too. More precisely, the study shows that in the U.S., the richest 1 percent of men lives 14.6 years longer on average than the poorest 1 percent of men, while among women in those wealth percentiles, the difference is 10.1 years on average.
This eye-opening gap is also growing rapidly: Over roughly the last 15 years, life expectancy increased by 2.34 years for men and 2.91 years for women who are among the top 5 percent of income earners in America, but by just 0.32 and 0.04 years for men and women in the bottom 5 percent of the income tables.
When we think about income inequality in the United States, we think that low-income Americans cant afford to purchase the same homes, live in the same neighborhoods, and buy the same goods and services as higher-income Americans, says Michael Stepner, a PhD candidate in MITs Department of Economics. But the fact that they can on average expect to have 10 or 15 fewer years of life really demonstrates the level of inequality weve had in the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.mit.edu ...
Now is a good time to be old.
Why are they surprised comparing the top 5% and the bottom 5%...it is what I would expect. It is not the fault of the rich.
When I went home to Oklahoma, last year, I was appalled at the people coming out of Walmart.
Ho Lee Cow...
Fat, pasty and not long for this world.
Many looked out of breath just sitting in their electric scooters...
The point is that the medical practice is good.
Sometimes it’s a health care issue. Other times... well... the decisions that keep them poor are also the decisions that shorten their lives.
Good one!
And in the words of the immortal Gov. Pettimane (Mel Brooks), “we have to protect our phony-baloney jobs”.
Women and minorities hardest hit
Homelessness isn’t a”decision”.
Or immigrants from Guatamala who died of TB but count as poor Americans in death stats.
In the Denver area, the shelters try to round up the homeless ahead of brutal winter storms. But some refuse to live inside and suffer from the cold with bad consequences, including death.
Death panels that don’t let you pay for your end of life care do something similar - being able to pay for an extra year or three of life ceases to be an option.
There’s also a lot tied to the lack of self control.
The person who doesn’t eat to excess, drink to excess, never uses drugs, doesn’t have sex with anyone who is willing on a whim, doesn’t give in to temptations for dangerous dares - lives longer on average than the person who does all of these things.
And the person with poor impulse control will have trouble not getting fired from work, having illegitimate children, staying out of jail for assault, burning money on lottery tickets and frittering it on impulse buys.
So the correlation is poor impulse control / self control to both wealth and health.
Uh oh. Someone tell Bernie Sanders it’s better to be rich than poor.
Yet another Captain Obvious study at the expense of the public. Are you feeling the Burn yet?
I know how it works.
How are you going to afford that?
Just have another kid.
You cannot make me think less of those type of people.
Wow. After reading this thread, where I knew I’d find lots of humor, I am kind of shocked at how disparaging some of you treat all poor people. I sure hope none of you who did that call yourselves good [name your religion]. Instead of giggling at your good jokes, I am appalled that you all think everyone who is poor has poor lifestyle choice, or is fat and on meth or cigarettes.
Disgusting. Everyone could suddenly be poor one day somehow. Even the wealthiest could survive some kind of enemy attack and find himself alone and poor. You’ve made me sad about FReepers again.
It is simply better to have lots of money than not very much. With access to all kinds of better living conditions and health assistance, it makes sense that the rich live longer on average. But not every poor person has horrible health standards. And being rich and insulting the poor is not a conservative or even a decent value.
Disgusting, isn’t it? Every year our garden gets bigger.
I have a suspicion all the angst from people who don’t like Trump now have too much to lose if he is POTUS.
Well if you are a poor hoodlum trying to make your way by knocking over 7-11s, your mortality rate might suffer.
Yes, those methol cigarettes are brutal.
(grin)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.