An Epidemic Unsolved It is often argued that one is a product of their environment. In other words, as theorized by Milanovic, it is geography, not genealogy, that is the primary indicator of socioeconomic status. Globally, certain patterns can be recognized of where there is a higher gap in income inequality. Subsequently, the same can be derived within the United States, which is often overlooked as an income unequal country, though income inequality between the rich and the poor is substantial. This can be highlighted most in certain states across the southern United States, as well as the region known as Appalachia towards the eastern United States. One story specifically eye-opening to me was that of Amanda Wendler, a young-middle aged white woman from Farmington Hills, Michigan (Saslow 2). Farmington Hills is a suburb of Detroit, and it is also a city where I grew up just 20 minutes from. The city of Farmington is often regarded as one of the more lavish cities in southeastern Michigan, but a closer look into the city shows an alarming disparity between the rich and the poor. Detroit, once an economic boom town, was the heart of the automotive industry and hosted an array of industrial opportunity. In recent years, if known at all, Detroit and its surrounding suburbs became a social wasteland. Amanda’s story is characterized by heavy drug use and inadequate housing, two very prominent issues in Macomb County today. According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, drug use has increased 14% within the last year. This is primarily caused by an increase in heroin use, which was the cause of 33.3% of all drug treatment admissions. Not surprisingly enough, the highest use of illicit drugs occurred in Detroit, as well as a few of its surrounding suburbs. In another scenario, Amanda even began dating one of the DEA agents after they came to her house to confiscate her prescription pills. I believe that the underlying cause of such adverse social implications and poverty can be summed up into one main focus: a lack of suitable education. In previous chapters, there was a strong, positive correlation between the percentage of women educated and poverty/socioeconomic rate. As women around the world continue to become educated, there is a worldwide decline in total fertility rate, and some women even use higher levels of education to find a way out of poverty. In the story of Anna Marie Jones, a 54 year old woman from Tecumseh, Oklahoma, it was said that Jones had nothing more than a high school diploma (Saslow 1). Additionally, Amanda Wendler had no high school diploma. It is safe to assume that this negligence to a sufficient education directly impacts the ability to make sound decisions about one’s health. This in turn has a detrimental effect of the youth as well, as twelve of the nation’s top fifteen states with the highest child poverty rates are in the South. In a majority of these case studies, there seems to be a common trend, that relative to demographic and location. The group most effected currently are women in the South. President Barack Obama began his presidency with an emphasis on “equal pay for equal work,” directly targeting the working women population.
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According to President Obama, the average woman earns $0.77 for every $1 a man earns. The discrepancy is higher in the South, where an average full-time working woman makes $0.66 for every $1 a man makes. The quality of the jobs these women worked may also contribute to their mortality. Jones worked at a Kmart (Saslow 1). Jessica Kilpatrick worked at a Burger King, making $10 an hour (Hull). The simple quality of life is causing the demise of middle aged white women, who, according to a study done by the University of Washington, were more inclined to engage in life shortening behaviors (McCoy). This leads to a pattern that was similar across all of these stories: drugs. All five stories exemplify the effect of opiates and other drugs as one of the main reasons as to why there has been an increase in mortality amongst white woman within the last few years. The article by Achenbach suggests that the current middle aged generation of women were more likely to suffer from obesity or drink themselves to death compared to the generation before them,
According to President Obama, the average woman earns $0.77 for every $1 a man earns. The discrepancy is higher in the South, where an average full-time working woman makes $0.66 for every $1 a man makes. The quality of the jobs these women worked may also contribute to their mortality. Jones worked at a Kmart (Saslow 1). Jessica Kilpatrick worked at a Burger King, making $10 an hour (Hull). The simple quality of life is causing the demise of middle aged white women, who, according to a study done by the University of Washington, were more inclined to engage in life shortening behaviors (McCoy). This leads to a pattern that was similar across all of these stories: drugs. All five stories exemplify the effect of opiates and other drugs as one of the main reasons as to why there has been an increase in mortality amongst white woman within the last few years. The article by Achenbach suggests that the current middle aged generation of women were more likely to suffer from obesity or drink themselves to death compared to the generation before them,