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Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans

nytimes.com

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Re: Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans

#71

Post by throwawayChess »

yarou wrote: post #53
shams93 wrote: post #11

Speaking from experience Im 43 years old but been rejected by women my entire life in LA for being a "white guy" its certainly depressing that no matter how well you do you have to spend your entire life alone have to be ignorant of sexuality because its cut off from you , theres never any reward for my efforts no matter how well i do only puniahment for being born the wrong ethnicity.

This is probably one of the most bizarre comments I've ever read. Nobody owes you anything, and based on your comment, it's clear you need an attitude adjustment and a new perspective. You should probably work on yourself before pointing the finger at others when it comes to your problems.

"Nobody owes you anything" Try telling that to overweight feminist whining that men don't like her.

Re: Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans

#72

Post by ajuc »

finance-geek wrote: post #48
sologoub wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not entirely true. Hospitals here are not allowed to turn away those in need, even if they have no insurance. The stays usually turn into uncollectible debts for the hospitals. With obamacare (Affordable Healthcare Act), the free options have been expanded quite a bit. In CA, the medi-cal is basically universally available to low income ($16,105 or under for 1 person, $21k or under for 2 person housefolds). Fo…

"The stays usually turn into uncollectible debts for the hospitals." --> "The stays turn into bankruptcy for the patients" Incidentally the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the US is unpayable hospital bills. For those outside the US, here is how it works: a simple visit to the doctor for antibiotics (the ER, since that becomes your only option) turns into a $1200 bill.

> a simple visit to the doctor for antibiotics (the ER, since that becomes your only option) turns into a $1200 bill.

WOW. It's like $10-$20 in private clinic here. Or free if you want to wait for a few hours.

Re: Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans

#73

Post by curiousgeorgio »

creshal wrote: post #62
curiousgeorgio wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a sad state of affairs made worse by undereducated, lazy people who blame the government and simultaneously elect politicians who promise to solve the problem for them by handing out a gift-wrapped "american dream" that everyone feels they deserve. I see this kind of self-destructive philosophy/behavior every day, and I'm getting tired of it. It's always someone else's fault, yet it seems the "progressives" in o…

> the only way we get decent jobs and favorable social and family conditions is by letting people fulfill their own dreams through hard work and less government intervention We tried that during the industrial revolution. Didn't quite work out that way…

There's a role for government to play in ensuring public safety and transparency, in addition to providing national defense and perhaps a few fundamental infrastructure services. To function effectively in those areas, we don't need them trying to manage the finances of everyone, nor picking and choosing who should or shouldn't be deserving of tax breaks, subsidies, or any of the other countless benefit programs.

When people are out of work or large classes of people are struggling to get by, it's because we haven't provided a suitable environment in which people can thrive (and yes, most people can and will thrive through their own action in a healthy environment), not because the government has somehow failed to give people enough prosperity.

If it were a traditional business (without the ability to print money or use military force), the U.S. government would frankly be one of the most disastrous companies ever imagined - not just bankrupt (many times over), but mismanaged, fraudulent, and corrupt. A huge portion of our paychecks go to support this company today. And we want more of it?

Re: Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans

#74

Post by DanielBMarkham »

ak39 wrote: post #63
wyclif wrote: post #41

Ageism still seems to be very much in play in technology, and a trap to avoid for middle-aged, skilled white men: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/06/02/google-agei... This guy had eyelid surgery, shaved his head, and got a pair of Converse "Chucks" to look younger because he was worried about jobs (previous HN submission): http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/27/us-valley-ageism-i... "Don't hire anyone o…

Thanks for the links. This from the last link: "To walk the streets of Austin during tech’s biggest annual confab, South by Southwest Interactive, is to experience a society where Boomers and Gen Xers have vanished into a black hole. Photos of those open-space offices favored by start-ups document workplaces where people over 35 are as scarce as women on the streets of Kandahar." At least made me chuckle against the…

This is funny.

Also funny -- I worked in Austin in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Looked the same then. When I was stressed out one evening, I joked with my wife that I was tempted to run over a few of the yuppies. With so many, who would miss a few?

So wonder where all those guys went?

On a related note, this weekend might be a good time to re-watch Logan's Run.

Re: Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans

#75

Post by creshal »

curiousgeorgio wrote: post #73
creshal wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the only way we get decent jobs and favorable social and family conditions is by letting people fulfill their own dreams through hard work and less government intervention We tried that during the industrial revolution. Didn't quite work out that way…

There's a role for government to play in ensuring public safety and transparency, in addition to providing national defense and perhaps a few fundamental infrastructure services. To function effectively in those areas, we don't need them trying to manage the finances of everyone, nor picking and choosing who should or shouldn't be deserving of tax breaks, subsidies, or any of the other countless benefit programs. Whe…

Are you listening, or are you posting copypasta?

Re: Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans

#76

Post by curiousgeorgio »

intopieces wrote: post #69
curiousgeorgio wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a sad state of affairs made worse by undereducated, lazy people who blame the government and simultaneously elect politicians who promise to solve the problem for them by handing out a gift-wrapped "american dream" that everyone feels they deserve. I see this kind of self-destructive philosophy/behavior every day, and I'm getting tired of it. It's always someone else's fault, yet it seems the "progressives" in o…

Your statements are such a massive oversimplification of a system that is so endlessly complex and full of exploitation that I'm beginning to suspect it's a well formed parody. Only a person with little experience "on the ground" in the formerly middle class America could produce such a piece without a derisive snicker. I won't bore the audience with anecdata but sufficed to say: The idea that hard work is both neces…

I never said that hard work alone is sufficient to shape one's own life meaningfully, but it is necessary. The other ingredient is an environment where hard work can be rewarded.

But I think we both agree that few people still believe that anymore, and that's what worries me most about our country.

Re: Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans

#77

Post by crdoconnor »

Steko wrote: post #65
artur_makly wrote: post #10

"Visit some formerly middle class suburbs of cities in the Midwest and you can see exactly why this is happening. No decent jobs, no social clubs, no children playing outside, sports tickets out of the budget of anyone but the 1%, no decent restaurants and obesity everywhere. Add decayed infrastructure and empty malls. You should see it. Horrific. " "These sad statistics should come as no surprise given the pummeling…

Turns out that voting against your own economic interests for a few decades has consequences.

Turns out if both parties in a two party system are co-opted by oligarchs then it pretty much isn't possible to vote in favor of your own economic interests.

Re: Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans

#78

Post by crdoconnor »

mud_dauber wrote: post #12
artur_makly wrote: post #10

"Visit some formerly middle class suburbs of cities in the Midwest and you can see exactly why this is happening. No decent jobs, no social clubs, no children playing outside, sports tickets out of the budget of anyone but the 1%, no decent restaurants and obesity everywhere. Add decayed infrastructure and empty malls. You should see it. Horrific. " "These sad statistics should come as no surprise given the pummeling…

As soon as I saw this comment, my first thought was "Holy crap. That sounds like Russia."

It isn't a coincidence. Post-1991 Russia and the US have shared some economic advisors (e.g. Larry Summers).

Re: Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans

#79

Post by draven »

marincounty wrote: post #32

Maybe my math is wrong, but the raising rate is .134 percent? I'm in that group of guys now. I sometimes wonder if white males are getting enough vitamin D. I never really gave it much thought, until I saw a friend's blood work-up. His doctor is routinely checking his level of vitamin D. I just chalked it up to his good insurance plan. I know I don't get the amount of sunshine my father got. My father always had a ta…

The death rate "increased by 134 deaths per 100,000 people from 1999 to 2014". Without the starting point (the death rate in 1999) we can't know the raising rate. If there were 268 deaths per 100,000 people in 1999 that would be a 50% increase for example.

Re: Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans

#80

Post by curiousgeorgio »

creshal wrote: post #75
curiousgeorgio wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a role for government to play in ensuring public safety and transparency, in addition to providing national defense and perhaps a few fundamental infrastructure services. To function effectively in those areas, we don't need them trying to manage the finances of everyone, nor picking and choosing who should or shouldn't be deserving of tax breaks, subsidies, or any of the other countless benefit programs. Whe…

Are you listening, or are you posting copypasta?

A constructive argument might be more appropriate than simply trying to deliver an insult in your comment.
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