Posted on 12/01/2025 11:06:53 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
On paper, Lexington County, S.C., and Placer County, Calif., have a lot in common. They’re both big, wealthy, suburban counties with white supermajorities that border on their respective state’s capital cities…But when it comes to how long their residents can count on living, the parallels fall apart.
Placer has a Scandinavia-like life expectancy of 82.3 years. In Lexington, the figure is 77.7, a little worse than China’s.
Step back and look at a map of life expectancy across the country and the geographic patterns are as dramatic as they are obvious. If you live pretty much anywhere in the contiguous U.S., you can expect to live more than 78 years, unless you’re in the Deep South or the sprawling region I call Greater Appalachia, a region that stretches from southwestern Pennsylvania to the Ozarks and the Hill Country of Texas. Those two regions — which include all or parts of 16 deep red states and a majority of the House Republican caucus — have a life expectancy of 77, more than four and a half years lower than on the blue-leaning Pacific coastal plain.
In the smaller, redder regional culture of New France (in southern Louisiana) the gap is just short of six years. So large are the regional gaps that the poorest set of counties in predominantly blue Yankee Northeast actually have higher life expectancies than the wealthiest ones in the Deep South. At a population level, a difference of five years is like the gap separating the U.S. from decidedly unwealthy Mongolia, Belarus or Libya, and six years gets you to impoverished El Salvador and Egypt.
It’s as if we are living in different countries. Because in a very real historical and political sense, we are…
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
It is something else. Lifestyle. One of my grandfathers lived to 90 the other to 94. My dad and mom to 82. All raised on farms, though.
All from Michigan.
“”””””Another thing I like about NY, namely NYC:
NO WALMARTS! Because there’s simply no room!””””””
Another liberal lie, your liberal politics keeps out Walmart.
For decades Walmart has tried to build stores there, but are blocked by the NYC politics you like so much.
One of the lifespan differentiators between liberal/progressive/commies and conservatives is that the liberal/progressive/commies tend to support medical interventions that actually shorten lifespans such as euthanasia for the elderly. Their other less obvious tendencies include not prosecuting criminals increasing the chances that their residents will be killed by criminals; allowing homeless people to live outside of civilization where they can only get medical care in an emergency room which will increase the likelihood that they will die of a drug overdose or undiagnosed illness; they want people to be able to buy junk foods and sugary beverages with their public assistance funds which will lead to an increased tendency towards obesity and bad dental outcomes; opposing the use of firearms for legitimate self defense increasing the chances that people will die for lack of being able to defend themselves although this wraps into my first point about criminals.
I could go on all day about how liberal/progressive/commie policies will lead to shorter lifespans. All day.
It’s not Hispanics. It’s everyone. There’s no good food in SA And the driving culture. There is no walking anywhere. That’s not because of Hispanics
It’s not the lard. Fats in food do not cause obesity. Sugar causes obesity. Refried beans and rice contain lots of carbohydrates which are literally sugar. Lard just passes through the digestive tract. Enzymes are needed for the body to absorb fats and when there is plenty of sugar, the body doesn’t produce the enzymes. The sugar is easily absorbed and then if there is too much it gets stored in fat cells.
Of course it’s a driving culture. San Antonio is spread out everywhere. Most cities are spread out everywhere. I prefer spread out versus living in a rat warren of metal and glass. Anyway, lots of good food around. It’s just not all in one place. The SA food scene is improving all the time. Not up to NYC level, but SA isn’t a rat warren full of world class chefs, and it and most cities never will be. That’s not a bad thing.
Walmart only food deserts run parallel to unhealthy demographics. And that’s a fact.
To Texas’ credit, my favorite grocery chain I’ve experienced is based there. H-E-B and H-E-B Central Market, which sources great quality foods both locally and internationally.
I’m not talking about high end restaurants. I’m talking about standards at grocery stores, relies. Pizza parlors. Bars. Homes.
The US is much, much larger and heavily populated than the comparison country. Why would that matter? You’d have to somehow make an apples-to-apples comparison. Match the data on race, sex and lifestyles. If you compare with say people who drive trucks and live a more dangerous job, say lineman. There simply isn’t that much production or infrastructure being built in Sweden compared to the US. The US is a more dangerous place, many more roads, many more cars, etc. Many more people doing a wider diversity of jobs. Also, how many people in the US death stats were born in poor countries and moved here? They’d have less medical attention and food when younger and that might affect their life trajectory here.
There was a short story called, “With folded hands,” where alien robots had taken over everything and eliminated all possibility of accidents, or adventure or fun. People lived long, long miserable lives. The US is still, compared to Sweden, a wild, exciting place. Wild exciting places are inherently more dangerous...and fun. My Dad went back to Sweden after living, working and raising a family here. He said, basically, “what a crappy boring existence they live.”
HEB is full of good food. Lots of those around. Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joes are around. Some decent pizza places, decent pubs/breweries, good food is around. Some of the best Tex Mex in the country. Not to mention Texas BBQ. Not sure where you are getting there’s no good food in SA.
what is a fact is your liberal politics and lying about the reason of how Walmart is blocked by the left in your beloved NYC.
Walmart would love to be able to conduct business in NYC, but the left hates them and controls your beloved city.
Walmart had destroyed numerous mom and pops, and small businesses, and local grocers everywhere. And it symbolizes that national shift to overseas manufacturing and labor, and lower quality goods.
Yes I love HEB!
Whole Foods not as much since Amazon bought it but still worthwhile and also founded in TX!
Complex carbohydrates are the killer and what makes people fat.
My wife taped a picture on the inside of one of the kitchen cabinets. It shows a progression of four men from cave man to modern humans. The last one is a fat guy holding an ice cream cone. Underneath the quote says something like
“its the sugar that makes you fat”
LOL, you and your lefty NYC politics.
You sure lied in your post 38, you do that a lot.
post38
Another thing I like about NY, namely NYC:
NO WALMARTS! Because there’s simply no room!
38 posted on 12/1/2025, 1:04:26 PM by CondoleezzaProteg
I know that lately when FR posters don’t like a situation they get nasty with Their responses
There is a particular turn toward emotional and nasty argumentation, which does not affect outcome and does not persuade. It is a leftist tactic
The fact is that there is a severe obesity disparity
Now someone cited that it was a Hispanic issue. Tortillas being the culprit. That is silly
There is a reason for the difference. Being nasty while avoiding the fact, then shoving data is not an intelligent researched answer
I visit New York often and I look around in Texas
Additionally, Here is some research data:
“Obesity Ranking (2025)
San Antonio Area
Ranked 13th most overweight/obese metro area in the U.S.
vs New York City Area
Ranked 88th out of 100 large metro areas (among the leanest)”
Whole Foods, HEB, sprouts are all excellent. Central market and Whole Foods are used by many. The produce is good. If I happen upon a good piece of fish it is not the same as getting good fish at the local fish market in Mantoloking or South Street
The fast food here is major. Popeyes, MCDs, whataburger, the donut stores, chick fil a, and the restaurants are ship it in on a freezer truck Chilis, Chuys,
People at work, fat nurses, walk around with sodas from whataburger that are so big they should come you a lifeguard. And they get consumed.
You can’t get a good salad out anywhere. A good piece of chicken without a lot of crap. There is no Italian food here. None.
There is very little walking around.
You can explain the difference by telling me that there’s something wrong with my view but that is not a good argument on any level that doesn’t include leftist emotional argjmentation
most of the Siuth consists of transplants from the North.
Good rant.
The Atlantic is probably using AI to find counties with similar populations that support their narrative without excluding confounding factors.
This is a Poltico article written by a real person. He cited several studies that have provided the data that his conclusions are based on. If you read the whole article you would see much of the other stuff you mentioned discussed.
I use to know Colin when he lived in Maine. Was a reporter for the Portland Press Herald.
Having said all of this I agree with only part of his premises. I don’t think you can blame the deep south on Republicans as the Dems ruled that area for about 100 years until the last 10 to 20 years.
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.