The Health Costs of Wealth Inequality

[marmar]

Published on Sunday, October 1, 2006 by CommonDreams.org
The Health Costs of Wealth Inequality
by John Robbins

Not that long ago in this country, you could raise a family on a single paycheck. If you were working, you didn’t have to worry about an unexpected medical bill making you homeless. If you were disabled, your basic needs were taken care of, and if you were elderly, you could count on benefits that made your final years restful and safe.

But real wages have been declining since the 1970s, and benefits have been deteriorating. Every year, more working people are losing their pensions and their health insurance.

Meanwhile, our wealth distribution has been becoming increasingly disparate. Today, many corporate executives earn more money in a couple of hours than the average factory worker makes in a year. The wealthiest 1 percent of America’s population owns more wealth than the bottom 90 percent combined. And the minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, has fallen by 37 percent since 1968, and become the lowest of any industrialized nation.

What impact is this having on the health of our people?

With 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States accounts for nearly 50 percent of the world’s healthcare spending, yet ranks only 26th in life expectancy, and 28th in infant mortality. Is it a coincidence that not a single one of the 25 countries that have longer life expectancies than the United States, nor a single one of the 27 countries that have better infant mortality rates, has as wide a wealth gap between its richest and poorest citizens?

I once believed that the wealthier a society, the better would be the health of its people. And it’s true that those nations whose annual per capita income is below $10,000 often suffer from poor sanitation and malnutrition and have the poorest health. But studies have consistently found that above that threshold, the health of nations is no longer a matter of absolute income, but is actually more a matter of the gap between the rich and the poor. Above that point, the more unequally wealth is distributed, the less health will prevail.

The rest is at: http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1001-29.htm

[MountainLaurel]

1. Thank you for posting this

I'm facing being uninsured for the first time in my adult life (I'll keep up with COBRA as long as I can afford it, but it'll be a quarter of my salary until I can find a full-time job), and this topic has been on my mind much as of late.

[marmar]

2. You're welcome...and good luck.

I might bitch about my company's health care provider (Aetna) from time to time, but when I hear the horror stories, I am humbled.