US Near Bottom In Life Expectancy In Developed World

Hugh Pickens writes "Louise Radnofsky reports that a study by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine has found U.S. life expectancy ranks near the bottom of 17 affluent countries. The U.S. is at or near the bottom in nine key areas of health: infant mortality and low birth weight; injuries and homicides; teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections; prevalence of HIV and AIDS; drug-related deaths; obesity and diabetes; heart disease; chronic lung disease; and disability. Americans fare worse than people in other countries even when the analysis is limited to non-Hispanic whites and people with relatively high incomes and health insurance, nonsmokers, or people who are not obese. The report notes that average life expectancy for American men, at 75.6 years, was the lowest among the 17 countries and almost four years shorter than for Switzerland, the best-performing nation. American women's average life expectancy is 80.8 years, the second-lowest among the countries and five years shorter than Japan's, which had the highest expectancy. 'The [U.S.] health disadvantage is pervasive — it affects all age groups up to age 75 and is observed for multiple diseases, biological and behavioral risk factors, and injuries,' say the report's authors. The authors offered a range of possible explanations for Americans' worse health and mortality, including social inequality, limited availability of contraception for teenagers, community designs that discourage physical activity such as walking, air pollution as well as individual behaviors such as high calorie consumption. The report's authors were particularly critical of the availability of guns. 'One behavior that probably explains the excess lethality of violence and unintentional injuries in the United States is the widespread possession of firearms and the common practice of storing them (often unlocked) at home,' reads the report. 'The statistics are dramatic.'"

Comments

Yeah, but we're very productive

[crazyjj]

The rest of you would be working yourself to death too if you were making $7.25/hr., had no job security or benefits, couldn't afford a hospital stay, and were afraid you would get laid off if you took a vacation. No 3-hour lunches or month-long vacations here. We WORK for a living! Even the relatively affluent can get fired or laid off at the drop of a hat in the USA.

But don't worry. You'll learn what it's like soon enough. Greece has already started. No more free rides, fellow Athenians!

Re:Yeah, but we're very productive

[MrSome]

Yo AC,
Read his post again. I think you're the one who's missing something here.

Crazyjj is making a point that the problem is the stress caused by having to WORK way more than our fellow affluent countries. While I don't know if this is accurate, I do seem to recall articles stating the more relaxed work atmospheres and the large amount of vacation available in some European countries.

Most people in the US are lucky to get 2 weeks of paid vacation per year... INCLUDING THE HIGH INCOME PEOPLE. And if they do, they're too scared to take it because their employers make it seem like if you do, you're not a "dedicated employee".

Before everyone else starts in on the "Well he should just find another job..." Quit yellin that BS. If you have a job now, you're lucky. So you take what you can get and do the best you can. It doesn't mean you're not allowed to complain if it's difficult to change your current position.

I get 3 weeks of vacation, and 5 sick days. The 3 weeks of vacation, I had to work here for 10 years to get.

Re:Yeah, but we're very productive

[Anonymous Coward]

Uh I know many whites who are in that very situation. Also he said that too "Even the relatively affluent can get fired or laid off at the drop of a hat in the USA."

You can go from earning 200k a year to living on welfare in under 2 years. I have seen many it has happened to.

Also is it systemic throughout the whole US or just regions (such as say new york which has a high population which messes with the results?). Compairing say the whole US to say Norway is not exactly a apples apples comparison...

Also keep in mind the US had an interesting thing about 70ish years ago. They had WW2. In Europe people hid from the guns and tried not to fight the germans as they were pretty much taken over by 'blitzkrieg'. In the US however we sifted thru all of our able bodied men and sent them off to fight leaving behind a less healthy group. Switzerland was nearly bending over backwards to not get into it. Where does say the U.K. fit in that list?

Or is this just a 'your healthcare/guns' suck article that is all the rage these days?

You seem to be suggesting that there was a kind of perverse form of natural selection whereby the strong/fit were taken out of the gene pool due to an overseas war... Don't forget that the ones who DID survive came back and "boomed" out a ton of kids. The fit AND life-preserving among the gene pool made out quite nicely while the risk-prone were weeded out...

Re:Yeah, but we're very productive

[comp.sci]

While statistics do show that the US is uniquely productive, it certainly comes at a cost. You present this as a binary choice (Greek lifestyle VS US) whereas there are plenty of highly successful countries (think Germany or Switzerland) that work less. Most people likely can relate to this but for many white-collar jobs the number of hours worked dont correlate perfectly with productivity either.

Re:Yeah, but we're very productive

[SerpentMage]

All that is missing is the chant USA USA USA!!!

I happen to come and live from the number one country, Switzerland. WE work for a living. You guys think you work, but you socialize quite a bit, as my many tell me that English speaker meetings run on, and on and on, and on! Our work week is 42.5 hours a week! We do not have the job protections like other European countries, though we are not quite as willy nilly in terms of firing as the US. Our's is a fine balance between the worker and the employee. Simply put to fire somebody you need a reason, other than "I don't like your face." We have private health care, but everyone is required to pay for it, and we have month long vacations. We have guns like the US, but we control them and try for the most part to make sure that bad people do not get them. Granted not always successful, but we have one the safest societies on this planet.

So stop whining, complaining, and chanting USA, USA, USA, poking fun at others and instead figure out how to improve your own country. Simply put MIND YOUR OWN BEESWAX!

Re:Yeah, but we're very productive

[kennelly]

"the US ... had WW2. In Europe people hid from the guns and tried not to fight the germans... Where does say the U.K. fit in that list?" I can't allow that to stand. Far from "hiding", the UK entered WW2 well before the US, and sacrificed a significantly larger proportion of its population to fighting the Nazis than the US did - 384K UK military personnel died, 417K US. Full stats here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties#Human_losses_by_country Of course the Soviet Union made the greatest sacrifice, by far, in terms of sheer numbers of deaths.

Re:Yeah, but we're very productive

[geekoid]

No it isn't. Greece happened do to too little regulation in the lending market, and people abusing the lending market.
SO called experts in the lending industry lied, and Greece made decision based on those lies. THAT is what happened. However members in the media in the US turned it into an anti-social policy meme
 

Re:Yeah, but we're very productive

[1s44c]

Also keep in mind the US had an interesting thing about 70ish years ago. They had WW2. In Europe people hid from the guns and tried not to fight the germans as they were pretty much taken over by 'blitzkrieg'. In the US however we sifted thru all of our able bodied men and sent them off to fight leaving behind a less healthy group.

Either you went to an American school or got the Hollywood version of events.

The truth was much more messy.

Re:Yeah, but we're very productive

[gl4ss]

Also keep in mind the US had an interesting thing about 70ish years ago. They had WW2. In Europe people hid from the guns and tried not to fight the germans as they were pretty much taken over by 'blitzkrieg'.

ARE YOU FUCKING JOKING?

Germany had WW2 too, I seem to remember they played some kind of important role in it. I suppose it was a walk in a park for France as well then. Finland fought against USSR and then against Germans who burnt half the country and then didn't accept marshall aid(and instead paid reparations to USSR).

and In Finland someone living on 200k/year is called a filthy rich fucker.

it's not the hard knock life that is killing you - it's the opposite - and your jails. and being rich enough to eat enough.

Re:Yeah, but we're very productive

[Eunuchswear]

Also keep in mind the US had an interesting thing about 70ish years ago. They had WW2. In Europe people hid from the guns and tried not to fight the germans as they were pretty much taken over by 'blitzkrieg'. In the US however we sifted thru all of our able bodied men and sent them off to fight leaving behind a less healthy group

Fucking clown.

Military casualties in WW2.

USSR: 8,800,000-10,700,000 out of 168,524,000 population.
USA: 416,800 out of 131,028,000
UK: 383,800 out of 47,760,000
France: 217,600 out of 41,700,000

The US had the lowest military casualty rate of any of the non-axis powers.

"In Europe people hid from the guns".

You are beneath contempt.

Re:Yeah, but we're very productive

[Anonymous Coward]

When people are overworked, they get far less productive. Having worked at many locations in both the US and Europe (Netherlands, Germany, the UK and France) I find that American workers work too much hours-wise but are not as productive overall. In Europe people work less, but when they are at work, they are much more productive and healthy. When I lived in Holland, I rode a bicycle to work every day. When I lived in San Jose California, I was stopped by the police for trying to walk to work. They told me it was illegal to walk along the side of the road. Total insanity. I have also found that in Europe, you are surrounded by history and stimulating architecture everywhere that focuses on humanity. In America, Shopping is a religion, and town after town has all the same soul-deadening strip malls and consumer wasteland landscapes that grind you down and make you feel like just another cog in the machine. Try shopping in a typical town in France or Germany and you'll see what I mean. People are nowhere near as materialistic. I remember an American telling me once that he was a "Ford man", meaning that he would only drive Ford vehicles. This kind of thinking, where people's identities are rooted in how they consume and what brands they use is almost unheard of in Europe. People know about brands, but they don't base their identities on their consumption. I think that consumer culture and the Walmatization of America is a divisive, alienating, soul-destroying sickness in and of itself.

Re:Yeah, but we're very productive

[cupantae]

Americans remind me of my sister with regards to talking about work: when it's useful in the conversation to be the hardest worker, that's who you are; when it's useful to talk about how little work you do, that's what you talk about.

In actual fact, I believe both. Americans definitely do work more than most Europeans (except eastern Europeans). The holidays are shorter and usually involve some contact with the workplace, employer or clients. However, I have noticed that, outside of the best and worst jobs, lack of productivity seems to be a serious problem in America. Your average office worker spends a sizable portion of the day browsing the internet (correct me if I'm wrong!). Believe it or not, this does not happen in many European countries. Still, though:

3-hour lunches or month-long vacations

what

On the whole, the problems you describe:

making $7.25/hr
no job security or benefits
couldn't afford a hospital stay
afraid you would get laid off if you took a vacation

Are a result of the lack of socialism in America. Haters can fucking deal with that, because it's true. Socialist policies are generally good for 99% of the population. It's good for society, doncha know.

Re:Switzerland

[Anonymous Coward]

They specifically criticise American attitudes to firearms, and not the weapons themselves:

"widespread possession of firearms and the common practice of storing them (often unlocked) at home"

At the risk of sounding patronising, they're saying that if you didn't insist on handing out guns like free toasters and storing them like same, you could probably be trusted with them.

But the U.S. is still #1 in the world!

[fullback]

#1 The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and the largest total prison population on earth.

#2 The United States has the highest percentage of obese people in the world.

#3 The United States has the highest divorce rate on the globe by a wide margin.

#4 The United States is tied with the U.K. for the most hours of television watched per person each week.

#5 The United States has the highest rate of illegal drug use on the entire planet.

#6 There are more car thefts in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world by far.

#7 There are more reported rapes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

#8 There are more reported murders in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

#9 There are more total crimes in the United States each year than anywhere else in the world.

#10 The United States also has more police officers than anywhere else in the world.

#11 The United States spends much more on health care as a percentage of GDP than any other nation on the face of the earth.

#12 The United States has more people on pharmaceutical drugs than any other country on the planet.

#13 The percentage of women taking antidepressants in America is higher than in any other country in the world.

#14 Americans have more student loan debt than anyone else in the world.

#15 More pornography is created in the United States than anywhere else on the entire globe. Eighty nine percent is made in the U.S.A. and only 11 percent is made in the rest of the world.

#16 The United States has the largest trade deficit in the world every single year. Between December 2000 and December 2010, the United States ran a total trade deficit of 6.1 trillion dollars with the rest of the world, and the U.S. has had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976.

#17 The United States spends 7 times more on the military than any other nation on the planet does. In fact, U.S. military spending is greater than the military spending of China, Russia, Japan, India, and the rest of NATO combined.

#18 The United States has far more foreign military bases than any other country does.

#19 The United States has the most complicated tax system in the entire world.

#20 The U.S. has accumulated the biggest national debt that the world has ever seen and it is rapidly getting worse. Right now, U.S. government debt is expanding at a rate of $40,000 per second.

Re:But the U.S. is still #1 in the world!

[dkleinsc]

#15 More pornography is created in the United States than anywhere else on the entire globe. Eighty nine percent is made in the U.S.A. and only 11 percent is made in the rest of the world.

So it's not all bad news!

Re:But the U.S. is still #1 in the world!

[tmosley]

You really ought to normalize your numbers for population. The US is a pretty big country, and there are a lot of other countries where I would feel a lot less comfortable about walking down the street at night, or worse, having a woman walk down the street at night.

Re:inequality

[Anonymous Coward]

obviouslt your agenda forbade you to read:

"even when the analysis is limited to non-Hispanic whites and people with relatively high incomes and health insurance, nonsmokers, or people who are not obese."

30,000 killed by firearms, 31,000 by poisoning

[scorp1us]

18,735 - suicide by firearm
11,493 - murder by firearm
554 - killed from accidental firearm discharge

31,578 - accidental death from poisoning

All of these numbers pale in comparison to this:
108,000 - killed from adverse prescription drug reactions.

Clearly the firearms angle is over stated.We should be banning doctors.

Re:30,000 killed by firearms, 31,000 by poisoning

[cffrost]

I care if I lose my life, not by what mechanism.

Seriously? I'd much rather be killed by rifle head-shot or morphine overdose than, say, stuffed into a pizza oven or eaten alive by rats.

Re:30,000 killed by firearms, 31,000 by poisoning

[FhnuZoag]

I'm undoing all my moderation to post this, but we need to do something about this.

"Recently, Lazarou, Pomeranz, and Corey attempted to synthesize
available data on fatalities from adverse drug events (excluding cases
of medication error). To derive their estimate of 106,000 fatal
adverse drug reactions in the United States in 1994, they drew on data
from 16 studies of adverse drug reactions published between 1964 and
1995. The studies cumulatively looked at 78 deaths, but only two of
the studies had more than 10 deaths. Moreover, the 4 studies published
after 1976 included a total of 5 deaths, compared with 73 in the 12
earlier studies. Consequently, the projection of fatal adverse drug
reactions in 1994 is based predominately on data from 20 years
earlier, when the use of pharmaceuticals was quite different. In
addition, deaths were too few to arrive at a stable mortality estimate
-- as even a small change in the number of deaths reported in the
studies would lead to substantial changes in the number of deaths
extrapolated to the national population".

Gun deaths and accidental poisonings are based on the CDC's own counts and therefore potentially underestimate the figure because of unrecorded deaths. 'Adverse effects to drugs' is based on massive extrapolation from outdated data. One fact that should have immediately rung alarm bells for you is that the CDC's definition for 'accidental poisoning' *includes* both illegal and legal drug reactions. The OP is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Re:Switzerland

[semi-extrinsic]

I agree, the rules for storage is where the US should introduce new legislation ASAP. Make it mandatory to keep your guns locked away, unloaded, and set up a program where for one year the government covers half the cost for anyone buying a gun locker (reasonably priced and conforming to some specification). I'd bet that the total benefit of such a program to society would be larger than the costs in a year or two.

To provide some statistics: this paper found that in the 12 US states with laws regarding safe storage of guns at that time, there were 23% fewer unintentional shooting deaths among children under 15, and this finding was statistically significant.

Re:Quality of years, not quantity

[WegianWarrior]

Knowing several people in various states in the US, ranging from middle-aged to old... I'm anything but convinced. It seems to me that compared to Norwegians (and most likely to everyone in Northern Europe) you work harder for longer for less pay, and have less to show for it at the end of your life. I don't think that most people enjoys working 60-80 hours a week, knowing that they can't afford to retire... meaning they will work until they drop dead.

To quote a comment that arose over a Christmas dinner a few years ago; "What do you call retired people in the states?" "Greeters at WalMart."

The plural of "stuff I know" isn't data, but in this case it seems like the data is backing up the stuff I know. You don't "pack more into your years" - you're worn out faster by an system built to benefit the rich, and even the rich seems overall less happy than most people I see over on my end.

some quotes

[buddyglass]

From the article:

The shorter life expectancy for Americans largely was attributed to high mortality for men under age 50, from car crashes, accidents and violence.

"Our health as Americans is only partly aided by having a very good health-care system," he said. "Much of our health disadvantage comes from factors outside of the clinical system and outside of what doctors and hospitals can do."

The authors noted that Americans who lived past age 75 had higher survival rates compared with similar countries, and Americans overall had better rates of surviving cancer and strokes.

Re:Quality of years, not quantity

[Sique]

Interestingly though (and contrairy to your comment), most of the reasons why life expectancy is lower in the U.S. happens before the age of 50. So the probability of a newborn child to even come to an age of 50 is lower than in any other of the 17 countries. So it's not the last 5 years that are important here (if you ever get 75 in the U.S., your life expectancy is on par with the rest of the countries), it's the deaths occuring before the age of 50 that make the numbers so miserable.

Re:Switzerland

[tmosley]

Divide the number of switzerland sized areas in the US and you will find plenty that have had less mass shootings than Switzerland. These things don't happen every day. At least, not when it isn't convenient to the agendas of politicians. A coincidence I find quite disturbing, honestly.

It IS the inequality

[PopeRatzo]

There's plenty of research, showing that high income inequality will lead to lower life expectancy, and not just among the poor.

The more economically unequal a society becomes, everybody gets more sick, even the 1%.

And it's not just physical health. There is more mental illness the more inequality grows. You know, craziness, like the kind that would make a 20 year-old kid kill his mom and 20 six and seven year-olds.

There are so many measurements of the health of a society that degrade as income inequality grow, it's not surprising that a growing number of very wealthy people are in favor of having their own tax rates go up and the social safety net made stronger. Some are even starting to take better care of their employees at the cost of stock price (the "market" hates it when workers get paid more). Costco is an example of this. Wages go up and employees get better health care and other benefits and the financial elite say, "What a chump. What's wrong with that guy, anyway, is he some kind of fucking commie?" (If you think I'm kidding about this, check out some of the stories about Costco in the Wall Street Journal or on CNBC. The CEO's name is James Sinegal, and he's decided to earn less than $500k. Wall Street hates the dude because they're afraid he's going to start some kind of trend where bonuses go down and then they won't be able to afford that new infinity pool in their houses in St Lucia.)

National Academies of Sciences Report

[Geoffrey.landis]

That is simply not true for two reasons: First, this is appears to not be peer-reviewed, and thus does not count as "medical research" by any means.

Sorry. no. This is the National Academies of Science. This is pretty much the gold standard of peer review; you really can't do much better than that. And, yes, NAS reports are very extensively peer reviewed.

You're right about this not being "medical research." This is a review. Reviews are not original research, they are summaries of research done by others-- in essence, a review is the peer review of an aggregate of studies.

The report is here: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13497

Re:Finally a proper analysis

[girlintraining]

A proper analysis would be putting in perspective, not just giving you the numbers. They say smoking takes an average of 6 minutes off your life for each cigarette you smoke. If that's the case, living in the United States is as bad as being a pack a day smoker for 12 years. Now rather than an abstract number, people have something they can relate to: Living here is worse than smoking for your health.

Re:Switzerland

[drinkypoo]

I agree, the rules for storage is where the US should introduce new legislation ASAP. Make it mandatory to keep your guns locked away, unloaded, and set up a program where for one year the government covers half the cost for anyone buying a gun locker (reasonably priced and conforming to some specification). I'd bet that the total benefit of such a program to society would be larger than the costs in a year or two.

Any "locker" that is not a safe is a complete waste of time and money. A worthwhile one for a pistol begins around four hundred bucks. We have already shot down bans on cheap guns (i.e. "Saturday Night Specials") as being unconstitutional as they unfairly penalize the poor. This is no different.

You know what else they have in countries with lots of guns and low gun crime? National health, a minimum wage two or more times ours, an education system which is intended to educate rather than to indoctrinate, and greater equality of wealth. Focusing on storage requirements is rearranging deck chairs on the titanic.

Re:inequality

[logjon]

Ever met a pregnant teenager? I have; They tend to be a bit... emotionally unstable.

And easy lays.

Re:Well...

[erroneus]

There are some life-shortening choices we don't get to make. I would prefer stevia, an all natural sweetener in my drinks which have a long history of use in Japan, in my low-calorie drinks... somehow it's still not allowed.

And the presence and prevalence of cereal fillers in just about everything imaginable is a pretty tough thing to get around too.

And the current price of healthcare? Well, let's just say I live with a lot more [fear] than I would prefer. I simply don't think I could afford it if anything serious were to happen.

Re:inequality

[xaxa]

The analysis could probably be tailored to fit any assertion you wanted to make. A breakdown by state in the US probably reveals significant discrepancies.

And if the UK were split into constituent parts, no US state is likely to be worse than Scotland for general health and life expectancy.

From the summary: "The report notes that average life expectancy for American men, at 75.6 years"

From your link: "Men in Scotland are expected to live for 76 years"

Re:Well...

[geekoid]

As some one who has actual driven for and got change made min the government, it more appropriate to say:
You are a lazy SOB who would rather make false accusations then actual expend any energy trying to actually create change.

Re:Well...

[1s44c]

Maybe there is a god. Maybe it actually is Allah. Maybe he actually is punishing us for our infidelity..

Maybe. Or maybe it's because Americans on average eat too much, get too little exercise, and have a healthcare system that's setup only to treat the rich.

Re:Switzerland

[nbauman]

I'm not sure about that. This paper found that storage didn't make any difference.

I've never understood how "storage" works. The main argument for having a gun in the home is that the gun owner can protect himself in case of home invasion. That means the gun has to be readily accessible day and night. It has to be readily accessible to your 16-year-old daughter when she's home alone. Or your 16-year-old son.

It seems that safe storage and protection are mutually exclusive. If the gun is available to protect you and your family, it's available enough to make it easy for you and your family to commit suicide.

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/160/10/929.long
Guns in the Home and Risk of a Violent Death in the Home: Findings from a National Study
Linda L. Dahlberg, Robin M. Ikeda and Marcie-jo Kresnow
Those persons with guns in the home were at greater risk than those without guns in the home of dying from a homicide in the home (adjusted odds ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 3.4).
The risk of dying from a suicide in the home was greater for males in homes with guns than for males without guns in the home (adjusted odds ratio = 10.4, 95% confidence interval: 5.8, 18.9). regardless of storage practice, type of gun, or number of firearms in the home, having a gun in the home was associated with an increased risk of firearm homicide and firearm suicide in the home.

Re:Well...

[hairyfeet]

"Well I believe the puppet on the left has MY interests at heart, well I believe the puppet on the right shares MY beliefs...hey wait a minute, there is one guy working both puppets!" Bill Hicks.

ANY of you that believe that left/right bullshit is anything more than kayfabe put on by the rulers of this country to keep the peasants too busy arguing to notice they are ALL getting fucked should really try this little game i have, its called three card monty and I'm sure you'll find the lady!

Even though I'm a socialist and never cared for libertarians I recognize truth when I see it and urge all to watch the truth about voting and just remember you cannot change a corrupted system by working within that system, anymore than playing a game of three card monty a million times is gonna make you a winner. The game is rigged folks, you are given 2 pre-approved shills who'll make a LOT of noise about this program or that program that "the other side" is sure to hate when in reality the same power brokers that have been leeching off this country for decades still get to have their way. Why do you think that Mr "hope and change" kept or extended every single thing the left hated about dubya's watch? Because just like the wrestler he does what he's told and reads from the cue card.

Re:Probably?

[Sique]

I didn't say anything about crimes. But if you insist: The person most likely to kill you is yourself, followed by your mother, your stepfather, your biological father, your significant other, your siblings and your children. If you have weapons in your home, those weapons are easily available to the persons most likely to kill you. For some irrational reasons, people fear the weapons in the hands of strangers much more (and try to defend against them) than the weapons in the hands of people most likely to kill you.

Re:Well...

[Specter]

This report is crap. For those of you who haven't read it, let me save you some time and summarize it for you:

"Health outcomes in the US are getting better and Americans are living longer. However, we're not getting healthier or living longer-er than other similar developed countries. Therefore: DOOM!

Although our own data, in fact even our own summary, indicates that for people under 50 the majority of this disparity can be explained by transportation related deaths and violence, we prefer to emote and thus offer the following list of things we don't like as the actual reasons for not getting better fast enough:

- fat people
- guns
- lack universal public health care, and
- not enough condoms

Since they raise uncomfortable questions about the ideological conclusions which we've emoted, we've left unexplored and thus unexplained such interesting questions as:
- Why do these outcomes suddenly reverse after age 75?
- Why do we assert that socio-economics do not have an impact on this trend then go on to demonstrate vast disparities within US regions that show significant differences in socio-economic status?
- When you can walk into any corner convenience store anywhere in the US and buy a condom for about the same cost as a bottle of soda, why are we fixated on a lack of access to birth control?

In summary: DOOM. Also, be more like Europe (we love you! call us!). Finally, spend a LOT more money on public health care (full disclosure: that means us).

Re:Well...

[VorpalRodent]

My local store happens to be a Super Walmart. Based upon your shopping advice, my grocery list, going counterclockwise, is:
Drugs
Barbeque Grill
Hunting Equipment
Electronics
Dog Food
Milk
Vegetables

I would definitely enjoy eating meals at your house...about half the time.

Re:inequality

[Anonymous Coward]

It's all socioeconomic and Darwinism.

In today's first-World countries, having money means having access to nutrition, shelter, clothes, quality healthcare, education, and hence a greater chance to survive childhood and reproduce, and also a greater chance to end up with health habits that result in longer life. Young people don't have money, meaning that they are too reliant on the generosity of their parents. It is a sad truth that a large majority of teen pregnancies are in situations where the parents have no money either, and the neo-con approach to social responsibility and education would be laughably ridiculous if it weren't so horrific in its effects. Don't have sex, mkay? Abortions bad, why didn't those girls just shut that whole thing down? We shouldn't be supporting those lazy women who just stay home pumping out kids. Let's repeal Obamacare.

WTF do they think will happen with those policies? That all the poorly educated -lucky to get any mininum-wage job at all- members of society are going to refrain from sex until their thirties, when somehow they'll magically find themselves living the American Dream in a nice suburb, decorating the Christmas trees with their spouse whilst dressed in their best Mr Roger's sweaters, with money and ready to start a family? Like fuck.

Everyone should read Freakonomics.

Re:Well...

[sycodon]

If I live in a suburb in a mid-sized city in the Midwest that does not have a gang problem, then the fact that people in LA are slaughtering each other is not relevant to me.

The vast majority of gun crime in the U.S is drug/gang related and occurs in urban centers. The vast majority of U.S. is peaceful and pretty much safe...at least as safe as is your average European country.

When the Bosnian conflict was happening and people by the thousands were being killed, no one put out a report saying that Europe had a high death rate. Same thing here. You just can't sum up all the deaths and then make a general statement about the nation when the majority of the deaths are localized and do not affect the majority of the nation.

Re:Infant Mortality Rates

[ranton]

bollox.

European stats are compiled by Eurostat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurostat

Well, you could always just do the research and find out that different European countries really do report infant mortality statistics differently.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db23.htm

Honestly, to think they would use different definitions for each country. Why, you must be american.

I disagree. I think that properly researching and formulating more accurate opinions based on that research can be done by anyone, not just Americans.