“White Americans’ Mortality Rates Are Rising. Something Similar Happened in Russia from 1965 to 2005,” by David A. Squires and David Blumenthal, Harvard Business Review
“The similarities between the mortality rate increases in Russia and the United States are striking and troubling. First, there are similarities between the affected populations. As in the United States, the Russian phenomenon occurred exclusively among working-age adults, not children or the elderly. In addition, the excess deaths in Russia appear concentrated among the less educated, and spared those with university degrees. The same is true today of the mortality crisis among U.S. whites. Second, there are similarities in the causes of death driving the upsurge. Rampant substance abuse is a common factor in both countries — alcohol in Russia and opioids in the United States. Finally, there are similarities in the economic and social contexts. Declines in low-skilled American workers’ wages, economic mobility, and financial security may echo the Soviet economy’s long decline and eventual restructuring. And as in Russia, surveys of white working-class Americans indicate a marked pessimism about the future.”
LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):
Ominous parallels.
#goldencareagent
#morality
