tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post1827909161271047405..comments2024-01-17T00:45:37.075-08:00Comments on Bud Meyers: Trickle-Down Economics is Killing Middle-Aged White MenBud Meyershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-48026151475177986412015-11-09T10:48:35.517-08:002015-11-09T10:48:35.517-08:00Paul Krugman:
White Americans are, in increasing...Paul Krugman: <br /><br />White Americans are, in increasing numbers, killing themselves. Suicide is way up, and so are deaths from drug poisoning and drinking. But what’s causing this epidemic of self-destructive behavior? In a recent interview Mr. Deaton suggested that middle-aged whites have “lost the narrative of their lives.” That is, their economic setbacks have hit hard because they expected better. Or to put it a bit differently, we’re looking at people who were raised to believe in the American Dream, and are coping badly with its failure to come true. That sounds like a plausible hypothesis..., but the truth is that we don’t really know why despair appears to be spreading across Middle America. But it clearly is, with troubling consequences for our society. Some people who feel left behind by the American story turn self-destructive; others turn on the elites they feel have betrayed them [They did!]. So you can understand why some voters have rallied around politicians who at least seem to feel their pain.<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/09/opinion/despair-american-style.html<br /><br />Comments on the article at Mark Thoma's blog:<br /><br />http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2015/11/paul-krugman-despair-american-style.html<br /><br />Related posts?<br /><br />"Grasp the Reality of China’s Rise" -- by Larry Summers (Reader comments at this blog are usually good.)<br /><br />http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2015/11/grasp-the-reality-of-chinas-rise.html<br /><br />"Gas All Boomers" Or At Least Tax And Cut Their Benefits More Says WaPo <br /><br />http://econospeak.blogspot.com/2015/11/gas-all-boomers-or-at-least-tax-and-cut.html<br /><br />Robots and Artificial Intelligence are decimating employment and wages, not just could it happen, has it largely happened already? Surprising data.<br /><br />http://richardhserlin.blogspot.com/2015/11/robotai-revolution-decimating.html<br /><br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-44986285248271094492015-11-07T12:29:13.701-08:002015-11-07T12:29:13.701-08:00Paul Krugman:
"Something terrible is happeni...Paul Krugman:<br /><br />"Something terrible is happening to white American society. And it’s a uniquely American phenomenon; you don’t see anything like it in Europe, which means that it’s not about a demoralizing welfare state. ... Something terrible is happening to our country — and it’s not about Those People, it’s about the white majority."<br /><br />http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/04/heartland-of-darkness/<br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-68620365280551792092015-11-07T00:08:06.517-08:002015-11-07T00:08:06.517-08:00Now White People Are Dying From Our Terrible Econo...Now White People Are Dying From Our Terrible Economic Policies, Too: "As the middle class hollows out, whites who started life under relatively promising circumstances are finally seeing the floor fall out under them."<br /><br />http://www.thenation.com/article/now-white-people-are-dying-from-our-terrible-economic-policies-too/<br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-38118603545769149662015-11-04T20:33:43.143-08:002015-11-04T20:33:43.143-08:00New York Fed:
Even though male and female workers...New York Fed:<br /><br />Even though male and female workers have similar unemployment rates, men are more likely to lose their jobs during recessions because they are more likely to work in cyclically sensitive sectors such as construction and manufacturing. Job loss rates are also both higher and more cyclical for young workers and less educated workers. However, duration of unemployment follows a different pattern. Even though young workers have higher risk of unemployment, they face much shorter unemployment spells. Job loss is less likely for older workers, but if they lose their jobs, they tend to experience longer jobless spells.<br /><br />http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci16-2.html<br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-12034170195130615492015-11-04T19:10:27.987-08:002015-11-04T19:10:27.987-08:00New York Times:
The mortality rate for whites 45 ...New York Times:<br /><br />The mortality rate for whites 45 to 54 years old with no more than a high school education increased ... Middle-aged whites were committing suicide at an unprecedented rate and that the all-cause mortality in this group was rising ... Deaths from drug and alcohol poisoning also increased in this group. The least educated also had the most financial distress ... The number of whites with mental illnesses and the number reporting they had difficulty socializing increased in tandem. Along with that, increasing numbers of middle-aged whites said they were unable to work and reported difficulty socializing, difficulty shopping, and difficulty walking for two blocks ... Their increasing reports of pain, poor health and distress provided a rationale for the increase in deaths from substance abuse and suicides.<br /><br />Ronald D. Lee, professor of economics, professor of demography and director of the Center on Economics and Demography of Aging at the University of California, Berkeley, was among those taken aback by what Dr. Deaton and Dr. Case discovered: “Seldom have I felt as affected by a paper. It seems so sad.”<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/death-rates-rising-for-middle-aged-white-americans-study-finds.html<br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895164153505105997.post-21578323539011167482015-11-04T11:21:51.203-08:002015-11-04T11:21:51.203-08:00100 CEOs Have More in Retirement Savings Than 41 P...100 CEOs Have More in Retirement Savings Than 41 Percent of Americans Combined<br /><br />http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/10/top-100-ceos-retirement-savings-racial-inequality<br />Bud Meyershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02065020063363023395noreply@blogger.com