This is a pretty bizarre story. Americans, who were once the tallest people in history, are now shrinking, getting wider, and much more unhealthy. According to Johns Hopkins, things are likely to get worse.
This Newsweek article from msnbc makes pretty grim reading. Apparently the problems start with the level of care and social conditions in childhood. America is doing very poorly in that regard, 20th out of 21 prosperous nations in a study of a range of factors affecting childhood development and growth. The criteria for the study for include “material well-being, health and safety, educational well being, family and peer relationships, behaviors and risks”.
Let’s try looking at this another way. All of these things are the things that the Thatcher-Reaganite philosophies said didn’t matter. The creed of the 80s, for those who weren’t there, was “Screw ‘em all, we want the money.” That was exactly what happened.
Health care, education, and damn near anything affecting human life, was relegated to “the nanny state”. The dismal collection of legalistic, inept, incrementalist office boys we’ve had to watch making a total catastrophe of everything they touch grew up on that basis.
People under 35 might not remember a time when it was assumed that government had something to do with anything, and served some sort of useful purpose. Anyone could be forgiven for thinking that governments are no more than facilitators for their little personal and corporate friends. Why have health care, if not to provide incomes for the health industry? Why have education, if not to encourage people to pay more for it?
As if there was something wrong in the idea that America isn’t getting much out of the gigantic amounts of money spent on its health, education, and social structures. We’ve now had nearly 30 years of inspired social leadership from corrupt, greedy, mindless idiots who couldn’t count using their fingers, because they’re still stuck in their ears... or elsewhere. A Morons’ Crusade against health, education, intellect, logic, economics, and literacy has finally paid off with this.
Doesn’t it make you feel civilized?
