In Case You Missed It Last Week - A Most Distressing Situation Steadily Grows Worse
Of all the distressing trends we've witnessed over recent decades, the increased mortality among the white working class may surprise some of us. You don't really hear much about this phenomenon, but it's just about devastated what was once the strong backbone of U.S. society.
Most recently, an acquaintance who had occasion to attend university in upstate New York described the towns that surrounded the vibrant, thriving college town in which he lived. It almost sounded surreal, but the source was not the exaggerating or dramatic sort. Main streets of town after town were lined with old decrepit storefronts. People looked to be a combination of distracted, disinterested, and downright depressed. Houses all looked old and in disrepair - the sorts of places you might associate with an elderly couple or individual who didn't have the energy or money to maintain their place. Except these weren't inhabited by particularly old people.
As this person put it, you would think the store owner could easily have sprung for coat of fresh paint if only to attract customers. But his impression was that people simply didn't care. I remember finding it quite disturbing, but didn't realize this was not unique to that area of upstate New York. These ghastly scenes have replaced what were once thriving communities across America. "The Land of the Living Dead" seems to best capture the appearance and feeling of such places. And any hope for improvement may prove elusive for a long time to come.
And so the white working class appears to be following the fate of those trapped in inner city communities who have been underemployed for decades, where family life and civility has virtually disappeared. What's left? Well, apparently those with college educations continue to remain above the distress line. They're more likely to have jobs. But unless I'm wrong, even there, we find people more or less treading water at best. As families and faith fade into the mist of history, with vulgarity, immorality, and broken families the rule rather then the exception, can a steady job alone preserve some semblance of healthy culture and society? The answer seems obvious. And a Trump administration - even if and when it begins to successfully implement its proposed changes - will likely not be enough to turn things around any time soon.
Most recently, an acquaintance who had occasion to attend university in upstate New York described the towns that surrounded the vibrant, thriving college town in which he lived. It almost sounded surreal, but the source was not the exaggerating or dramatic sort. Main streets of town after town were lined with old decrepit storefronts. People looked to be a combination of distracted, disinterested, and downright depressed. Houses all looked old and in disrepair - the sorts of places you might associate with an elderly couple or individual who didn't have the energy or money to maintain their place. Except these weren't inhabited by particularly old people.
As this person put it, you would think the store owner could easily have sprung for coat of fresh paint if only to attract customers. But his impression was that people simply didn't care. I remember finding it quite disturbing, but didn't realize this was not unique to that area of upstate New York. These ghastly scenes have replaced what were once thriving communities across America. "The Land of the Living Dead" seems to best capture the appearance and feeling of such places. And any hope for improvement may prove elusive for a long time to come.
Distress born of globalization and technological change probably drove the deadly outcome, new research by Princeton University’s Anne Case and Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton shows. Their findings point to a cycle of despair that’s deepening: Middle-aged whites today are more likely to report pain and mental-health problems than their predecessors and are experiencing symptoms of alcoholism at a younger age.The causes are many:
“Policies, even ones that successfully improve earnings and jobs, or redistribute income, will take many years to reverse the mortality and morbidity increase,” Case and Deaton write in their paper. “Those in midlife now are likely to do much worse in old age than those currently older than 65.”
“The story is rooted in the labor market, but involves many aspects of life, including health in childhood, marriage, child rearing, and religion,”...Such communities apparently heavily supported Donald Trump for President. Now that he's in office, they expect a change for the better. But can a President do all that much about a trend like this? If it were merely a matter of creating jobs, then government policy could lend a helping hand. But what about the deterioration of marriage, child rearing, religious belief? Will a job cause people to become faithful spouses and good parents? Will a living wage revive the religious beliefs that underpin morality and civil behavior?
And so the white working class appears to be following the fate of those trapped in inner city communities who have been underemployed for decades, where family life and civility has virtually disappeared. What's left? Well, apparently those with college educations continue to remain above the distress line. They're more likely to have jobs. But unless I'm wrong, even there, we find people more or less treading water at best. As families and faith fade into the mist of history, with vulgarity, immorality, and broken families the rule rather then the exception, can a steady job alone preserve some semblance of healthy culture and society? The answer seems obvious. And a Trump administration - even if and when it begins to successfully implement its proposed changes - will likely not be enough to turn things around any time soon.
Comments