High school educated whites not doing good

[offroad]

Am not sure if this will get rejected as a topic but going to open it up anyway.

Was reading that the death rate of high school educated white Americans is increasing rapidly. While all other demographics show a decrease.

Speculation is abundant. But think that our society has put so much pressure on this group, with no support structure. What is a high school educated white person going to do? They may have been poorly trained to believe they need more academic education and failed at that. So they feel trapped.

Hope many can find their way. In that they don't need any further academic education. There are other ways to create skills and community.

 

[Canine]

I think it's the obesity epidemic.Either they are dying from heart disease,diabetes,cancer etc,or they are commiting suicide because they are disgusted with their obesity.My older brother ate himself to death at age 64.My younger brother is 66 and is doing the same thing.Kinda strange that so many in the world are dying of starvation while so many in the US are dying of eating too much.Actually,eating oneself to death could probably be one of the most pleasant forms of suicide.

 

[offroad]

Bob you have a good theory there. If you do have enough money to feed yourself you sure are being subjected to a carb heavy diet advertisement onslaught daily. All fast food is so bad. Everyone older than 50 is committing slow suicide if they eat any of that, without getting a lot of cardio exercise.

 

[Canine]

Even with eating very little meat and no added sugar,and going to the Y 3 times a week I still have to be careful.If dying young from obesity were my fate,I think I would regret the poor quality of life more than the shortness.Then again,This is just my opinion.I could be totally off base.

 

[Patrick46]

I'm with you 500% here Bob!!!

 

[Canine]

Eh...500% about my being off base?

 

[GrantRobertson]

Headline-based sociology is almost always wrong. I'm sure there are enough confounding variables to choke a heard of horses.

 

[GrantRobertson]

Was reading that the death rate of high school educated white Americans is increasing rapidly. While all other demographics show a decrease.

Perhaps a link to WHAT you were reading is in order?

 

[dhawktx]

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/10/29/1518393112.abstract

http://blogs.plos.org/publichealth/...ged-white-americans-dying-faster-than-others/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...a63098-8172-11e5-8ba6-cec48b74b2a7_story.html

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/11/figuring-out-why-so-many-white-people-are-dying.html

 

[BobBski]

I think a lot of that might have to do with having a lot of high expectations after graduation and very few kids nowadays are allowed to fail or lose at anything or held accountable for their actions. After high school reality of the real world sets in where both good and bad consequences for your efforts are possible....competition not participation....winners and losers of the game. The things many of us have now escaped from.

Then there's the cost of living...primarily housing. They don't build and offer 1000 square foot homes anymore...more like 2500. My first house was 1086 square feet...$18,500 mortgage, I was terrified on signing day...30 year mortgage with $146 a month payments. After tax income was $616 a month.

Sorry for going off track a bit...I just cringe at the startup kids face nowadays.

 

[Reno]

High school educated whites not doing WELL

Headline grammar corrected by a high school dropout

 

[LeeRevell]

Some of the stupidest people I know hold advanced degrees.  Some of the smartest people I know are only high school grads.  Samuel Clemons said he never allowed his education to interfere with his learning.

 

[dhawktx]

The people who are dying are the folks who came BEFORE the no kid left behind nonsense.

I can say that, being self taught, HS class of '74. I hit a high gross annual income of $58K after working my way up the company from an admin position to that of data analyst. When I was laid off, it took me 4 years of temp work before I had a chance to work my way up a second company. At that company I finally worked up to $60K when I was forced out due to office politics.

It gutted me. I can't even get through a job interview without having a panic attack. I'm making less than $11/hr at Home Depot right now because I can't face going through trying to get hired in an office with no degree and I'll be 60 yrs old in 2016.

On top of this, companies don't hire directly anymore unless it's new college grads. Temping is no longer a way to work while you get a foot in the door. Without a degree I can't even apply for most jobs that utilize my skills.

 

[akrvbob]

The Washington Post article leaves no doubt about the immediate cause:

“Drugs and alcohol, and suicide . . . are clearly the proximate cause,” said Angus Deaton, the 2015 Nobel laureate in economics, who co-authored the paper with his wife, Anne Case. Both are economics professors at Princeton University.

The rat-race is killing us.

I've been saying this for a very long time, modern civilized society is exactly the opposite of how humans were born to live. We were born to be wolves in a pack but society is modeled on the bee hive or ant hill. If you try to turn a wolf into an ant or a drone, it will go insane. You can't defy your nature this much and remain a mentally healthy person. Alcohol, drugs, depression and suicide will be the inevitable result.

We aren't people who use machines, we are the tools being used by the machines

It's only going to get worse.
Bob

 

[Almost There]

Good theory Bob but what explains that the upward trend is ONLY happening in the US and not in other countries that rank right up there with the US.

Canada is facing the same problems with pain killer prescriptions being handed out like they were candy and I don't believe that our alcoholism rate is any lower. And we certainly have the same rat race attitude.

 

[sephson]

The rat-race is killing us.

I quite enjoy my part of the rat race! Of course, I have a relatively low stress job and love what I do. I've been with the same company in my current position for sixteen years. I don't worry about advancement because I know the only way to advance is for someone to retire or die. Someone dying is the more likely scenario. None of the positions above mine have opened up in my time there and aren't likely to before another fifteen to twenty years have passed. A full third of our staff has been with the company for 30+ years and only a third has been there a shorter amount of time than I have. The people I work with, with very few exceptions, are like family to me, and I still like the ones who I don't consider family. Hell, the folks who've been there the longest watched me grow up.

All that said, I realize that very few people are fortunate enough in their careers to do something that they love with people they genuinely enjoy working with. I often stay late at work simply because I don't feel like going home yet. I could make more money doing something else, but I truly believe I'm in a happier healthier place than most people. I wish that more people could find something they are content to do without worrying about climbing and clawing their way up the ladder to "success".

 

[akrvbob]

Good theory Bob but what explains that the upward trend is ONLY happening in the US and not in other countries that rank right up there with the US.

Canada is facing the same problems with pain killer prescriptions being handed out like they were candy and I don't believe that our alcoholism rate is any lower. And we certainly have the same rat race attitude.

I think you may be making the wrong comparison. Instead of comparing two industrialized countries, a better comparison it to compare developed countries with less developed countries because that would compare two different ways of life one, a very rat race country and the other a not very rat race country. 

Globally, the less developed a country is, the lower the suicide rate. There are exceptions but that is the general tendency. The exception is the extremely poor countries, and naturally they have a higher rate of suicide. Here's a map from this website:
http://chartsbin.com/view/29874

The higher the suicide rate the darker the color. Most third world countries are lower;

 

[BC Guy]

Going by that, I guess you should all move north of the border if you want to live longer.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

yeah and don't move to Belarus or whatever country that is under Russia.

 

[offroad]

Mexico has a lower suicide rate? Do they not have a higher suicide by cop, or suicide by challenging the corrupt police rate? --- looking at that chart picture and wondering.