Michael Hiltzik: America's decline in life expectancy speaks volumes about our problems
Years of widening economic inequality, compounded by the pandemic and political storm and stress, have given Americans the impression that the country is on the wrong track. Now there's empirical data to show just how far the country has run off the rails: Life expectancies have been falling.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last year that life expectancy at birth fell in 2021 to its lowest level since 1996, a decline of nearly a year on average from 2020. That was after a decline by 1.8 years from 2019 to 2020, producing the worst two-year decline since 1921-23.
These figures open a window on a set of pathologies unique to America among developed countries.
COVID-19 is the most obvious and convenient culprit, both for the absolute decline in life expectancy and the
