Deaths of Despair in Young Whites—Related to Communities of Despair—-Offshoring and Outsourcing Jobs
Princeton economists Deaton and Case study Death in America (rf: 2020 publication, 9/28/2023 Brookings presentation).
The authors have recently (9/28/23) presented new data at a Brookings Institute seminar where they presented a shocking graph showing a close correlation of “deaths of despair” in young white men (mortality by opioids, suicide, cirrhosis) , with a disparity in college education. Their conclusion: those with college degrees live longer.
However, correlation does not prove causation. The authors blithely ignore the great swath of middle America, where in the 1970s to the present, tens of millions of factory jobs were lost when whole industries were offshored to China. The vast swath of hollowed out “communities of despair” had a devastating and demonstrable impact on young working class Americans of those communities. No doubt, idleness, depression, poverty, despair naturally lead to higher mortality rates.
These two talented Princeton economists might be well served to get out of their oak paneled offices with whirring computers and visit these devastated communities where factories sit idle, main streets are empty, and the smell of rotting wood mixed with ganja smoke predominates. The authors should analyze those data. An put the blame where it belongs.
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