People in the U.S have a shorter life expectancy than many other countries, and a shorter one than any developed western country. What causes this? The lack of universal healthcare.
Yeah, we’ve come a long way with Obamacare, but until we have a single payer system, we won’t be what our Republican politicians like to say we are: the best country in the world with the best healthcare system in the world.
Oh, healthcare in the U.S. may indeed be the best — for the 1%. And for upper middle class. And possibly for middle class people who have solid insurance, whether through their employers or via an Obamacare exchange provider.
Here’s the lowdown. Click the map to view a full-size image.
Average life expectancy in years in the United States:?78.37 years
Countries who have a great life expectancy that we have are:
- Monaco
- Japan
- Singapore
- Australia
- Hong Kong
- Italy
- Canada
- France
- U.K.
- Jordan
- Guam
- Chile
- And many, many more
Why is the U.S. life expectancy so much lower than other developed countries?
What do Liberal Americans think marks the primary difference between most of these higher-ranking nations and the U.S.? You get one guess — and you’ll all likely get it right.
Universal Health Care
There are certainly some exceptions. Russia, for example seems to be an anomaly, mostly due to the prevalence of smoking and an abnormal level of alcoholism in the country.
Why? And what can we do about it?
Why do you think the right wing is so blind to this obvious FACT??And yes, it is a FACT. My father, a doctor and a Republican, points out that many of these may be misrepresenting their statistics.?All we have to go on are statistics, however, so we’ll stick with that rather than opinion.
As for why the GOP refuses to acknowledge these facts, I’m sorry to say that my opinion is cynical and depressing. I firmly believe that they just don’t care. They know we die earlier, they SHOULD know that having universal healthcare will bump our life expectancy up, and they do not care.
The “worker bees” are younger, and the old retired bees don’t contribute as much financially to this country.
I’d hypothesize that most Republicans?may actually want us to have a lower life expectancy. It saves the government money. The less old people, the less money paid out in Social Security and Medicare.
See, I told you my opinion is depressing.
What are your thoughts on this, Liberal America? Let us know at the Liberal America Facebook page.
Tiffany Willis is the founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal America. An unapologetic member of the Christian Left, she has spent most of her career actively working with ?the least of these? and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. She’s passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics she discusses,?like her?Facebook page,?follow her on Twitter, or?connect with her via LinkedIn. She also has?a?grossly neglected personal blog?and a?literary quotes blog that is a labor of love. Find her somewhere and join the discussion.
