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- From: ssc@nwu.edu (Steven Chung)
- Newsgroups: sci.econ
- Subject: Re: I want a GERMAN standard of living
- Message-ID: <1992Nov7.005500.17637@news.acns.nwu.edu>
- Date: 7 Nov 92 00:55:00 GMT
- Article-I.D.: news.1992Nov7.005500.17637
- References: <BxB3t5.8Ar@apollo.hp.com> <1992Nov6.222402.14999@news.acns.nwu.edu> <BxBJAD.5oF@apollo.hp.com>
- Sender: usenet@news.acns.nwu.edu (Usenet on news.acns)
- Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.
- Lines: 24
- Originator: schung@casbah.acns.nwu.edu
-
- In article <BxBJAD.5oF@apollo.hp.com> nelson_p@apollo.hp.com (Peter Nelson) writes:
- # >I wonder how much the average lifespans and health care costs would move
- # >when you factor out gang violence, drug abuse, crack babies, and so forth,
- # >which are pretty much endemic to inner cities in America.
- #
- # People always raise this issue. But I'm not clear what the
- # relevance is. I mean, for comparative statistical purposes
- # if we get to subtract our lowest scores, then so should they.
- #
- # In any case, what is the point? Human societies are complex
- # systems -- massive urban poverty and alienation are part of
- # our system it's not at all clear that it could be excised
- # without some fundamental changes in our culture so it's academic.
-
- The point is mostly that for any specific person, the figures on mortality
- and medical costs could be misleading. Whether or not these urban problems
- are part of the system, their effect on much of the population is minimal
- (I mean real, measurable effect). The original poster was favorably
- comparing other countries to the US in various characteristics; unless he
- contemplates becoming part of the urban underclass, their death rate has
- little bearing on any such comparison.
-
- I'm not sure, but I doubt that there is a real equivalent to the US urban
- culture of death in any first world country.
-