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The question is, why are people dying? What is the actual cause of the disparity in life-expectancy?
You want to attribute it to healthcare, but is that actually the problem? As most people know, Europe largely has a "single-payer" healthcare system. But when you look at healthcare-related outcomes, Americans actually fare better than Europeans(IE cancer survival-rates).
Another good example is Japan. Many talk about how Japan has the longest life-expectancy of any country. But if you compare the life-expectancy of Japanese-Americans to the Japanese in Japan, the Japanese living in America actually have a longer life-expectancy.
Life-expectancy rates tend to be higher in cities than in rural areas. Why?
It obviously isn't because there is less crime in cities. Nor is it honestly because hospitals are closer. It stems from the fact that people die from homicides at a much lesser rate than they die from accidental death.
The largest type of accidental death is from car accidents. And people who live in cities are far less likely to drive, and mass-transit is far safer than driving cars.
People who live in rural areas, tend to drive more cars, at faster speeds, and for greater distances.
Plus, farming and logging are some of the most-deadly professions.
And let us not get started on obesity, smoking, and overall demographics. Africans tend to be prone to heart-disease at a much earlier age. And Asians seem to be less-prone to heart-disease.
Rates of cancer vary by ethnic group as well. With black men having much higher rates of the most-common male cancer, prostate cancer.
Don't jump to conclusions unless you know what you're talking about.
Oklahoma doesn't have a large African-American population. So what's your excuse? All of the farming? Please. You know how many farmers there are in California? Fishing is really dangerous - - Hawaii and California still are top two.
Driving fatalities haven't been above 12 per 100,000 since 2008. They were 20 to 26 per 100,000 from 1962 to 1981.
So, yeah, don't jump to conclusions unless you know what you're talking about.
Red vs blue has nothing to do with it. The lowest life expectancy states all have high numbers of African Americans. AA have lower life expectancy than other groups in the country for complex reasons.
Uh huh.
That's why Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware weren't on the bottom 10, despite having larger AA populations than several of the ones actually on it?
Come on... you're gonna have to do better than to default to "Blame the Blacks".
Yeah but the difference in the top state for whites in, say Minnesota, is not that huge of a differential than the bottom state for whites like west virginia, its only 5 years, not like the difference between white men life expectancy and black mens life expectancy of 18 years in DC!
But what you've failed to address is the cause.
The blacks in Washington D.C. largely live completely different lives from the whites in Washington D.C.
They don't share the same neighborhoods, their lives barely even intersect. The rich might as well be a separate country from the poor. And trying to compare statistics in this way is unfair.
I mean, in my city, I'm sure the life-expectancy rate is much higher in one neighborhood compared to the other. And that even includes comparisons between predominantly "white" neighborhoods.
What is killing blacks in Washington D.C., is gangs, crime, and drugs. It isn't racism.
Now you can say that most of the problem in Washington D.C. are caused by poverty, and that black people are more likely to be in poverty.
But what is the cause of black poverty? Just because blacks tend to be poor, doesn't mean that the fault is racism. Just like racism isn't to blame for Asian-Americans being so successful.
By 2030, American life expectancy for men will be equivalent to the Czech Republic; for women it will be equivalent to Mexico. But, sure, get rid of Medicare, Medicade, Obamacare, etc.
White people have higher life expectancy than Black people. Financially comfortable people live longer than poor people. Enjoy your racist, elitist celebration.
That's why Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware weren't on the bottom 10, despite having larger AA populations than several of the ones actually on it?
Come on... you're gonna have to do better than to default to "Blame the Blacks".
Because a high % of those Black people are doing very well financially. Maryland & Virginia have high numbers of Blacks raking in the dough working in Washington DC.
Yes, its larger than 18 years. Asians in America live longer lives than white males. Much longer. Hispanics also live longer than white males.
It's not 18 years , definitely not with Hispanic ,but Asians have a much healthier diet and much better life expectancy , it's 88 years for Asian men in Florida , 79 for white men in Florida. Asian women routinely average over 90 . It's causing a big problem in Japan with too many old people , a growing social welfare burden and an enormous public debt
Having an aging society is a mixed blessing when there aren't enough young people, a lot of problems paying pensions
White people have higher life expectancy than Black people. Financially comfortable people live longer than poor people. Enjoy your racist, elitist celebration.
But, but, but - - California is too expensive for people to live in! And the border! All those immigrants!
I would have thought that incredibly white North Dakota, Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana would have been on the list. If white is the key as you say, you can't get much whiter than them. How come they can't capitalize on that?
Oklahoma doesn't have a large African-American population. So what's your excuse? All of the farming? Please. You know how many farmers there are in California? Fishing is really dangerous - - Hawaii and California still are top two.
Driving fatalities haven't been above 12 per 100,000 since 2008. They were 20 to 26 per 100,000 from 1962 to 1981.
So, yeah, don't jump to conclusions unless you know what you're talking about.
Oklahoma has a size-able Hispanic population, we also have the largest Native-American population in the country. We have the sixth-highest automobile fatality rate in the country(which is almost four times higher than the homicide rate).
Oklahoma has one of the highest obesity rates, and highest rates of smoking in the country. Our economy is built on agriculture, and the oil and gas industry(both very dangerous professions).
We also have one of the highest suicide rates in the country. Probably in part because of our high gun-ownership rates, among other factors. We also engage in a lot of activities, such as four-wheeling, hunting, noodling, etc.
In any case, why exactly do you think Oklahomans are dying?
My point was, there is no evidence that the longer life-expectancy in Europe is the byproduct of healthcare. If you compare healthcare outcomes, Americans do better than Europeans. And the same logic can be applied to comparisons between American states.
The life-expectancy rate in America is lower than Europe, because we have a higher homicide rate, and higher rates of accidental death.
Also, you need to understand why things like accidental-death and homicides so greatly affect life-expectancy rates.
If you have one person who dies at 100, and another who dies at 50, the average life-expectancy is 75. But when an infant is killed in a car-accident, then even if you had four other people, all living to 80-years old, that one infant death drops the average life-expectancy to 64.
In simplest terms, you aren't going to live any longer by moving to a blue state or a red state, as long as you continue to live the same life you lived before.
Obviously if you are obese, and then move to Colorado, and its beauty encourages you to spend more time outdoors, and go walking and hiking through the mountains, and you lose weight as a result. Then yes, you could argue that by moving to Colorado, you extended your life.
And if by moving to New York, they are able to limit the amount of soda you drink, or get you to walk more, and use your car less, or otherwise make better life choices, then sure, you might live longer.
If you move to Japan, and begin eating primarily fish and rice, and you become healthier, you will likely live longer than if you live in Mississippi, and eat mostly friend foods, and then die of a heart-attack.
I'm just saying, lets be fair about the actual causes of death. Not jump to conclusions.
And to be fair, this same pattern is seen in other countries as well.
Part of it is the result of crime/gangs/drugs/etc, but some is from differences in rates of disease.
I don't know if differences in racial outcomes necessarily implies "Racism", or that we are "racially screwed-up".
The actual cause likely has nothing at all to do with race. Which is precisely why a "white state" like West Virginia is always near the bottom on these kinds of statistics.
Be careful about jumping to conclusions.
Many minority groups (Blacks, Puerto Ricans, American Samoans, etc) have higher rates of obesity due to cultural practices (diet) and genetics. Ever been to Puerto Rico? The amount of absurdly obese people (especially women) is astonishing. Why? Traditional Puerto Rican cuisine plus national fast food chains, and a culture that historically viewed obesity as a sign of being 'happy'. The situation is much the same in the Black community.
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