# Why are middle-aged white Americans dying/killing themselves? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 9, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105 "2015-11-09T15:23:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/1 "2015-11-09T15:23:41Z")
Two Princeton economists, Angus Deaton and Ann Case, have determined that [the death rate for middle-aged white Americans has been rising since 1999](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/death-rates-rising-for-middle-aged-white-americans-study-finds.htmlt) – just as the death rates for all other demographic segments have been falling. What’s more: > [@](#): > > Analyzing health and mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from other sources, they concluded that rising annual death rates among this group are being driven not by the big killers like heart disease and diabetes but by an epidemic of suicides and afflictions stemming from substance abuse: alcoholic liver disease and overdoses of heroin and prescription opioids. Economist [Paul Krugman](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/09/opinion/despair-american-style.html?_r=1) considers and dismisses several explanations: It is not the fault of the welfare state encouraging dependency and despair, because this is a uniquely American phenomenon and the American welfare state is meager compared with other industrialized democracies’. It is probably not caused by “rising inequality and the hollowing out of the middle class,” because Hispanic Americans are much poorer than whites but have lower mortality. > [@](#): > > So what is going on? 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 to me, 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 as a whole. > > In particular, I know I’m not the only observer who sees a link between the despair reflected in those mortality numbers and the volatility of right-wing politics. Some people who feel left behind by the American story turn self-destructive; others turn on the elites they feel have betrayed them. No, deporting immigrants and wearing baseball caps bearing slogans won’t solve their problems, but neither will cutting taxes on capital gains. So you can understand why some voters have rallied around politicians who at least seem to feel their pain. > > At this point you probably expect me to offer a solution. But while universal health care, higher minimum wages, aid to education, and so on would do a lot to help Americans in trouble, I’m not sure whether they’re enough to cure existential despair. So, what **is** at the root of this “existential despair,” that afflicts middle-aged whites more than others? And what can be done about it? ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/2 "2015-11-09T15:32:22Z")
I suspect anything anyone says would be guessing, and everyone will come up with something that fits their worldview. FWIW, my guess would be that not only are this group’s (and the group in question is “lower middle class whites”) prospects declining, but society at large continues to view them as privileged and is focused on solving the problems of others (sometimes at their expense). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/3 "2015-11-09T15:45:32Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > So, what **is** at the root of this “existential despair,” that afflicts middle-aged whites more than others? And what can be done about it? You mean, like if you’re feelin’ low and the fish won’t bite? You need a little bit of something, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/4 "2015-11-09T15:47:00Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > . . . (and the group in question is “lower middle class whites”) . . . Well, [the study in question](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/death-rates-rising-for-middle-aged-white-americans-study-finds.html) (fixed link) defines the subject demographic by ethnicity and age, not by class. Presumably, however, it does reflect the working-class or lower-middle-class death rates more than other classes’ because those whites are more numerous than other classes of whites. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/5 "2015-11-09T15:51:30Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Presumably, however, it does reflect the working-class or lower-middle-class death rates more than other classes’ because those whites are more numerous than other classes of whites. No, a lot of other articles say that the study isolated the effect to people without college educations. [For example](http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/03/health/death-rate-middle-age-white-americans/): > [@](#): > > When the researchers took a closer look at the death rate among middle-aged whites, they found that those with only a high school education or less saw a much larger rise in death rate than those who went to college. > > The death rate for middle-aged whites with only a high school education or less increased by 134 per 100,000 between 1999 and 2013. Those with a bachelor’s degree or more education saw death rates fall by 57 per 100,000 in that time period. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/6 "2015-11-09T15:55:01Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > . . . but society at large continues to view them as privileged and is focused on solving the problems of others (sometimes at their expense). How “at their expense”? Most recipients of public assistance are white (despite persistent mythology to the contrary). ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/7 "2015-11-09T15:57:24Z")
Perception counts more than reality for purposes of this issue. But FWIW, I would think affirmative action would count, both in the form of admission and hiring preferences, and in promotion of minority-owned business and the like. ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/8 "2015-11-09T16:24:16Z")
It might be that middle-aged white Americans aren’t dying or killing themselves at increasing rates. [Correcting statistical biases in “Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among white non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st century”: We need to adjust for the increase in average age of people in the 45-54 category](http://andrewgelman.com/2015/11/06/correcting-rising-morbidity-and-mortality-in-midlife-among-white-non-hispanic-americans-in-the-21st-century-to-account-for-bias-in/) The short summary of the argument is that Deaton and Case didn’t adjust for the increase of average age in the 45-54 category, and so the death rate isn’t actually rising when you account for that. On the other hand, even if the criticism is correct it still points out that death rates in many countries for that demographic are falling while that is not the case in the USA, so the study is still probably significant. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/9 "2015-11-09T16:32:54Z")
If this is a problem of working-class whites specifically, then the explanation might be the decline of opportunity in sectors they traditionally work in – industrial manufacturing, family farming, and small business. See [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=721785&highlight=kimmel) from last year. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/10 "2015-11-09T16:38:12Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > If this is a problem of working-class whites specifically, then the explanation might be the decline of opportunity in sectors they traditionally work in – industrial manufacturing, family farming, and small business. Problem is it does not seem to be having this effect for working class non-whites. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/11 "2015-11-09T16:40:58Z")
To determine that you’d have to look at the fraction of working class non-whites who work in those fields. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/12 "2015-11-09T16:43:12Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Problem is it does not seem to be having this effect for working class non-whites. They were not raised to expect as much out of life. ---
**Author:** ![Sendil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@Sendil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sendil)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/13 "2015-11-09T16:49:36Z")
Actually mortality rates increased not only for midlife whites, but younger whites as well. This is explained more in detail in my [blog post.](http://economicssendil.blogspot.se/2015/11/deaton-and-case-are-wrong-mortality.html?_r=1) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/14 "2015-11-09T16:51:58Z")
Well, that was quick. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/15 "2015-11-09T17:02:27Z")
See [_Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era_](http://www.amazon.com/Angry-White-Men-American-Masculinity/dp/1568586965), by Michael Kimmel. Kimmel’s thesis is that AWM have bad reasons to be angry (a sense of “aggrieved entitlement”) and good reasons to be angry (economic marginalization/dispossession), but in either case their anger is misdirected – they are “sending their mail to the wrong address”; whoever or whatever is to blame for their troubles, it is not minorities or immigrants or feminists or liberals or biggummint. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/16 "2015-11-09T17:05:44Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > They were not raised to expect as much out of life. Or they have tighter social support networks. A nuclear family has its advantages relative to multigenerational households, but it also has its downsides. Would not be surprised if this was a factor. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/17 "2015-11-09T17:29:58Z")
[Statistics.](http://andrewgelman.com/2015/11/06/correcting-rising-morbidity-and-mortality-in-midlife-among-white-non-hispanic-americans-in-the-21st-century-to-account-for-bias-in/) From the cite, the improved summary finding: _"This paper documents a marked flattening in the all-cause mortality of middle-aged white non-Hispanic men and women in the United States between 1999 and 2013. This change ended decades of progress in mortality and was unique to the United States; no other rich country saw a similar stasis._ Not to mention that one of the authors is a middle aged white chronic painer… :rolleyes: (Well, I guess I did mention it, but then my cynicism knows no bounds.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/18 "2015-11-09T17:41:23Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > Not to mention that one of the authors is a middle aged white chronic painer… :rolleyes: Most academics in this country will be middle-aged whites . . . what is a “chronic painer”? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/19 "2015-11-09T21:15:06Z")
Some comparison with the great demographic collapse in the former Soviet bloc is useful here, although obviously that one was far larger in scale and consequences. It is undoubtedly one of the ironies of history that the social conservative’s concern with the disastrous consequences of too rapid change was proven most clearly true in the transition of the USSR’s successors to market capitalism in the 1990s with the lifting of price controls, slashing spending, and gutting social welfare programs with not only the direct consequences of economic decline and countless excess deaths but such indirect consequences attributed to collapse of moral values such as rise in violent crime. Ross Douthat is undoubtedly correct in his recent column to attribute this to a mixture of worsened socioeconomic conditions for working-class/middle-aged white Americans exacerbated by the far more meagre social welfare state here as well as the dissipation of community and family in the past generation. As in Russia, this represents the triumph of Mammon in the guise of both untrammelled neoliberal capitalist and hedonistic atomized individualism. It is undoubtedly an issue that our generation’s politicians must address considering it is a social problem on par with say the disproportionate brutalization by police of blacks or the sad condition of the indigenous races of America and my hope certainly is that the new populistic, economically focused tendencies of the Democratic Party as represented by Bernie Sanders and even the new version of Hillary Clinton will rise to meet this challenge by making the party stand once more for the American workingman, and not be a mere coalition of the bobos and the lumpenproletariat. If not, Trump and the success of the European national right gives us some taste of where politics may head. Considering the even worse condition of the American wwc as opposed to their European counterparts, one wonders what sort of formula American right-wing populism adopt. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105/20 "2015-11-09T23:11:40Z")
All life is suffering; suffering is caused by wanting things you cannot have. America’s entire philosophy is based on unrestrained wanting. Our whole economy, our whole way of life - Our Dream - is based on wanting things. There is nothing in our education to prepare us for the reality that we won’t actually get what we want. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-middle-aged-white-americans-dying-killing-themselves/737105.md?page=2)