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Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

economist.com

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Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#71

Post by ekianjo »

NegativeLatency wrote: post #55
perardi wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am curious what country you could move to that isn’t co-opted by the wealthy and powerful. Sure isn’t Canada. Sure isn’t anywhere in the EU. Super-duper-sure it isn’t anywhere in Asia.

I don't know honestly, never been to any of these places and after moving around several times within the US I realize how nice it is to just be setted in one place, but here's what I would consider: Netherlands (I really like biking), Germany (Cologne seems like a nice vibe), France (Probably Paris, Food obviously, but I also really appreciate people's willingness to protest stuff)

> Probably Paris

Paris is probably one of the worst places to live in Europe. Looks nice on postcards and it's nice to visit when you never live there, though.

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#72

Post by cpleppert »

6510 wrote: post #30
actuator wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not sure how in a totally integrated free market world, a country like UK can compete with US or China. The amount of funding US can put into new areas like green energy and the internal market and capital it offers is something UK can't compete with. This is why UK origin founders are one of the biggest cohort of immigrant unicorn founders in US. Although, I am not sure where a Brit would move to, if they want…

You pick one thing (or a few) and do it well. Agricultural exports (billions): US $134.8, Brazil $87.2, Netherlands $81.3, China $72.7 Population (millions): US 331.9, Brazil 214.3, Netherlands 17.5, China 1412 Size (km²) US 9834000, Brazil 8516000, Netherlands 41850, China 9597000

Agriculture is something like 2% of the economy of the netherlands. Additionally, the vast majority of agricultural production in the other countries you mentioned is consumed domestically. The netherlands isn't richer because of agriculture in any way whatsoever. Its richer because its population is much more productive across its entire economy.

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#73

Post by Retric »

rayiner wrote: post #67
NegativeLatency wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW As a US citizen I feel similarly. The switching cost feels too high to move, as I can't really see myself living somewhere other than the West Coast (family, friends etc) It's a shame humans don't have more empathy and sympathy for each other, and that governments have been so obviously co-opted by the wealthy and powerful for their own benefit. One of the things that does make me feel better is being more invol…

Where would you move, and for what? The “wealthy and powerful” enjoy similar if not better corporate and investment tax rates in most of Western Europe as on the west coast of the US. The social services those countries have that we don’t are largely paid for by the middle and upper middle class, not the “wealthy and powerful.”

Everywhere has problems, it’s less about perfection than simply being a better option. I’ve generally considered Canada the best option for a while. English speaking, low crime, same time zone with family, etc.

New Zealand, or one of the Nordic countries aren’t that far behind. Australia, England, and Western Europe etc are much lower, but still have plenty going for them.

The biggest thing America has going for it is my friends and family happen to live here.

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#74

Post by alwayslikethis »

barrysteve wrote: post #49
krysp wrote: post #9

As a Brit I can't help but notice that on every axis, our country appears to be in decline at the moment. Even before Brexit, things hadn't been going well, as this article shows. It's making me seriously consider moving away. I want to have hope that as a country we can turn around this societal regression, but I fear it's a deeper problem than just the current government. The class system and an unhealthy nostalgia…

In the long run, the British culture of checking, enduring, regulating and filling in insufficiency will be vital to balancing the world against a centralizing Asian power. There's a growing longing in people's hearts - a pull - toward authoritarian and religious control. People are chasing Moby Dick's white whale and are filling their hearts with that craving and emotional desire to follow a goal. It can be really d…

There will be no centralizing Asian power in the long run (this century). China has a fair bit of influence now, but with all the domestic problems it has, it cannot remain stable for much longer and is in for a long, irrecoverable decline.

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#75

Post by nradov »

markdown wrote: post #68
yeuxardents wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does something like that even happen...? All I can consider is the relatively small size of the UK, and how one can drive from one side of the other in the UK in just 15 or so hours...

Concerted efforts by the Tories over decades to defund public health so that they can raise a generation of people who sincerely believe that it's best for the country for the government to get out of Healthcare and leave that to the more efficient private sector. It's a very slow process that requires first the defunding, then some brainwashing via television. The American model.

The UK NHS budget has been steadily increasing. You can't plausibly claim that the Tories have defunded public health over decades. Some might claim that the funding should have increased at a faster rate, but there are limits to what any society can spend on healthcare.

https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/nhs-in-a-nutshell/nhs-...

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#76

Post by nradov »

Retric wrote: post #73
rayiner wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where would you move, and for what? The “wealthy and powerful” enjoy similar if not better corporate and investment tax rates in most of Western Europe as on the west coast of the US. The social services those countries have that we don’t are largely paid for by the middle and upper middle class, not the “wealthy and powerful.”

Everywhere has problems, it’s less about perfection than simply being a better option. I’ve generally considered Canada the best option for a while. English speaking, low crime, same time zone with family, etc. New Zealand, or one of the Nordic countries aren’t that far behind. Australia, England, and Western Europe etc are much lower, but still have plenty going for them. The biggest thing America has going for it i…

Crime rates are a city by city and neighborhood by neighborhood issue. Most of the USA is very safe; my city has zero murders most years. The statistics are thrown off by a few neighborhoods in a few cities like Chicago that have degenerated into third-world war zones. While that's a terrible situation and we need to fix it, most HN users can easily avoid those places.

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#77

Post by randomsolutions »

londons_explore wrote: post #35

In my district in the UK, there were occasions when average wait times for an ambulance for a Category 1 incident (eg. person not breathing) reached 48 hours last month. The target is 90% of patients reached in 15 minutes. Yet the reality is the average wait was 48 hours. I can't see any way that kind of thing isn't contributing to a shorter life expectancy.

Sucks for the 10% waiting 478 hours.

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#78

Post by rcarr »

londons_explore wrote: post #35

In my district in the UK, there were occasions when average wait times for an ambulance for a Category 1 incident (eg. person not breathing) reached 48 hours last month. The target is 90% of patients reached in 15 minutes. Yet the reality is the average wait was 48 hours. I can't see any way that kind of thing isn't contributing to a shorter life expectancy.

I don’t get why people are even bothering to call at this point, surely you’re better off calling a taxi or driving the person yourself and then just carrying them into the ER and shouting for help. They’re in the building that way and they can’t just ignore a collapsed person in the middle of a hallway

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#79

Post by stephen_g »

newaccount2023 wrote: post #36
tailspin2019 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As another Brit I totally agree. I don’t quite understand the sequence of events that brought us here, but I am convinced that we need to kick the Conservatives out at the next election at the very least.

[flagged]

Might have changed things in 2017 or 2019. How close it was spooked the establishment so much that they had to create a massive campaign of false smears to force out the radicals in the Labour Party…

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#80

Post by anonporridge »

nradov wrote: post #75
markdown wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Concerted efforts by the Tories over decades to defund public health so that they can raise a generation of people who sincerely believe that it's best for the country for the government to get out of Healthcare and leave that to the more efficient private sector. It's a very slow process that requires first the defunding, then some brainwashing via television. The American model.

The UK NHS budget has been steadily increasing. You can't plausibly claim that the Tories have defunded public health over decades. Some might claim that the funding should have increased at a faster rate, but there are limits to what any society can spend on healthcare. https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/nhs-in-a-nutshell/nhs-...

It's easier for people to believe in a personified evil with a face that can be hated and a body that can be killed than it is for them to accept that many of our biggest problems are intractable hyperobjects which are simultaneously nobody's fault and everybody's fault.
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