༺ Income Gap = Lifespan Gap ༻
Understanding that there is a large difference in the quality of health between the lives of the upper class versus the middle-lower class isn’t exactly rocket science. If there’s one thing that we should be interested in, it’s working towards a healthcare system where we do not have to pay to survive. That being said, let me introduce you to a great place to start; this blog. Here, I will be talking about the problematic, yet unchanging link between lifespan & income, health & wealth, money & longevity & the many subtopics that branch from this issue. Ultimately, my goal here is to find the answer(s) to a question that should disturb us all; why are the rich outliving us?
The straightforward answer to that is, “Our healthcare system is deeply rooted in capitalism, therefore rendering life as a mere pay-to-win game in which the rich are obviously at an advantage” But that isn’t the answer we should settle for. So, let’s discuss! Let’s discuss obesity rates in reference to “Age, Health & Wealth” by Frances Cairncross where they mention that these rates can reverse about one-third of the gains in life expectancy within the next couple decades. Having said that, let’s also discuss how a surplus of fast food chains & a lack of fresh groceries is a common environment found in communities of lower income. Let’s also discuss insulin & how Humalog Insulin vials, which are used to treat diabetic people, was $21 in the 1990’s, which is a huge difference from the whopping $275 you have to have laying around to buy it in 2020. There’s also lots of stressors associated with being low income that actually contribute to damaging your health. How many lower-middle class people do you know that didn’t have to worry about what or when their next meal was, or how they were gonna pay for college, or whether or not their parents/guardians would need help with rent or mortgage or whose turn is it to watch the younger kids because babysitters are too expensive even for (a) guardian(s) who have/has to work full or even overtime to make ends meet? As said in “Residents of One Virginia County Live 18 Years Longer Than People Just 350 miles Away” by Kincaid, children who are exposed to these stressors at an early age are more likely to suffer health issues which (surprise! but not really) will need to be treated by services that they are less than likely to be able to easily access & afford.
Now, we all know the saying “Money can’t buy happiness”, but can money buy you happiness? That’s a subjective question which will generate subjective answers, but I think we can all agree that money can buy you health insurance. Money can buy you ridiculously priced safe housing. Money can buy you gym memberships so that you don’t have to jog in a neighborhood with high crime rates. Money can buy you fresh groceries from a Whole Foods that you won’t find in a McDonald’s for a family of 7. In short, money may or may not buy you happiness, but it’s ben proven through research that money is a one-way ticket to a long enough life to figure that out.
