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The average American has the same life expectancy as the worst part of England

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Re: The average American has the same life expectancy as the worst part of England

#201

Post by [deleted] »

wkat4242 wrote: post #145
Teever wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. We should implement policies that prevent guns from getting into the hands of children, regardless of whether they're gang members or not.

That'll be very very difficult. Even very restrictive weapon ownership countries like Netherlands and Sweden have a big violent gang problem. And a policy as strict as they have is just totally unthinkable in the political reality of the US. So a policy stricter than the US can have isn't enough to solve this problem. That's why it's better to aim at reducing accidental underage gun deaths which is much more achievab…

[deleted]

Re: The average American has the same life expectancy as the worst part of England

#202

Post by Schroedingersat »

8ytecoder wrote: post #198
Schroedingersat wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Smaller cars are more dangerous in a multi-car accident. Smaller cars bear more of the risk in a multi-car accident from the more dangerous larger cars. The smaller cars themselves are safer. It's like saying t-shirts are less safe than guns because they won't stop bullets.

It's a negative spiral. More people get bigger cars now because well there are more bigger cars on the road now. That and the convenience of an SUV is unbeatable for people with families - like baby seats or ease of getting in and out and so on. When I bought my car almost a decade ago, it felt reasonably sized. Now it looks puny on the road.

True. But language is important. We don't have to help them victim blame.

Re: The average American has the same life expectancy as the worst part of England

#203

Post by gedy »

wolverine876 wrote: post #173
bitwize wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Statistically speaking, suicide is the #1 cause of gun death in the US, gang activity is #2. School shootings are far down the list. They get a lot of attention but don't account for a large proportion of deaths. Of course, that any of these deaths occur is tragic, which is why the most sensible solution is repeal of the Second Amendment and implementation of a nationwide, federal license requirement to purchase or o…

> gang activity is #2 What is that based on? The only people I hear even talk much about 'gangs' is conservative propgandists trying to demonize black and brown people and cities. I'm not saying no gangs exist, but they aren't really an issue (unless you define 'gang' as any association of >1 person > the most sensible solution is repeal of the Second Amendment and implementation of a nationwide, federal license requ…

> I'm not saying no gangs exist, but they aren't really an issue

Sounds like you've never been poor in urban areas?

Re: The average American has the same life expectancy as the worst part of England

#204

Post by bohadi »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #183
bohadi wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Depending on priorities, it could be optimal what possible priorities... sounds like the humanity extincting AGI has already gotten free /s If civilization needs to adopt such measures it must be in deep crisis.

Ignoring the sarcasm, hey there's a fascinating question. It asked what our society's priorities are. These aren't new questions or unique. Any country on the planet could extend lifespan if it wanted to spend more money. The question is who pays or what services do you cut. Would you cut schools to extend lifespan 5 years? Maybe everyone lives in tiny little boxes but people live to 90. An American Healthcare System…

No, yeah. Suppose I am arguing for a light touch. Assuming one were at the levers of power (of the state apparatus, of the corporation, etc). That humility is lacking, for even the very wise cannot see all ends. It is a conservative point of view, what's the rush anyway. The next generation may have better data.

Re: The average American has the same life expectancy as the worst part of England

#205

Post by rgmerk »

wkat4242 wrote: post #145
Teever wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. We should implement policies that prevent guns from getting into the hands of children, regardless of whether they're gang members or not.

That'll be very very difficult. Even very restrictive weapon ownership countries like Netherlands and Sweden have a big violent gang problem. And a policy as strict as they have is just totally unthinkable in the political reality of the US. So a policy stricter than the US can have isn't enough to solve this problem. That's why it's better to aim at reducing accidental underage gun deaths which is much more achievab…

Sweden’s murder rate is less than a fifth of the murder rate in the United States.

It seems like their policies do go a big way to solve the problem, as infeasible as they appear to be for the USA.

Re: The average American has the same life expectancy as the worst part of England

#206

Post by jandrewrogers »

wolverine876 wrote: post #170
roenxi wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems pretty likely that the US healthcare decisions at the federal level are to blame. This data suggests it isn't the access to healthcare that is to blame as much as the governance of the entire system is forcing bad outcomes. The effect here is too widespread to be "pub culture". I could see city planning being a contributor. But the effect is so extreme the place to start is deliberate policy. It would be har…

> It seems pretty likely that the US healthcare decisions at the federal level are to blame. This data suggests it isn't the access to healthcare that is to blame as much as the governance of the entire system is forcing bad outcomes. What is your basis for that? Does it vary by state - I'm pretty sure states that invest less in health get much worse outcomes. And how can people without health insurance somehow get s…

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of how the political structure of the US works. The individual States are responsible for regulating healthcare, the Federal government has little jurisdiction as a Constitutional matter.

There are many single-party States that nonetheless have broken healthcare systems. You can’t legitimately blame the intransigence of any political party in those States, they control their own outcomes. I live in a single-party State (Democrat) and the systemic incompetence and corruption in healthcare is evident without any Republicans in sight.

Americans have very little contact with Federal law. The legal environment they live in is set by the States, by design. If you don’t like the laws where you live, or the competency with which they are executed, that is on the State.

Re: The average American has the same life expectancy as the worst part of England

#207

Post by ip26 »

thevagrant wrote: post #107
sammalloy wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Cars are getting so big that people can’t drive them. While controversial because car companies in the US intentionally chose to market large SUVs to the public, there is some evidence that smaller vehicles are safer and that auto manufacturers have doubled down on unsafe vehicles. Why this is the case, isn’t exactly known, but one of the theories is that bad drivers will get behind bigger cars and take more risks.…

I've noticed that certain types of large vehicles attract drivers (or create false confidence) in bad driving and aggressive driving habits. It is appears that the driver of the large SUV or pickup believes they have right of way over smaller cars, pedestrians and cyclists. A "get out of my way" attitude. I love small cars, not to mention cycling and walking. It concerns me that the shift of cars parked at the parkin…

Surveys have found that people driving large SUVs and trucks like them for reasons including, it makes them feel powerful, and it makes them feel important. These were high on the list, even.

Re: The average American has the same life expectancy as the worst part of England

#209

Post by petesergeant »

bilbo0s wrote: post #119
whakim wrote: post #97

The original article points out that the primary difference between the US and the UK (as well as other peer countries) is that you're much more likely to die young in the US. A 5-year-old in the United States has a 4% chance of dying before age 40, whereas a 5-year-old in Australia, Austria, Canada, England and Wales, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, or Switzerland has ~1% chance of dying before age 40 (val…

Woah! Deaths by billion vehicle miles in UK - 5.2. In US - 12.5. (both have tens of thousands of KSI, but the US has over twice as many per cap. In fact, way, more KSI from car accidents than even gun related homicide in the US. I hadn't realized that!) Deaths by gun related homicide in UK - 200. In US - 20000. (Both numbers pale in comparison to motor vehicle deaths, but there are a lot more in the US. Probably to b…

> Deaths by billion vehicle miles in UK

UK driving test is difficult, and I suspect drunk driving is much lower because distances are lesser and public transport is better.

> suicides

Much easier when you have a gun around

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