Why Austerity Kills

In the reading for today, The Body Economic: Why Austerity Kills, I was fascinated and moved by a few different concepts. I have always, politically, had the same inkling that welfare is directly necessary for the health of our society. However, I didn’t realize the extent to which this was the case. This article woke me up in a certain way. I knew that many people became overwhelmingly depressed when faced with joblessness or lack of economy. Yet the rates on suicide following a change in economic activity was by all means terrifying. If we can visibly see this correlation, it seems necessary to me (and humane) to bring about the New Deal’s of this generation in order to give hope and peace to those who are struggling. And it seems very possible that through these actions, we’d see a bottom down revitalizing effect. People who were previously on welfare or unemployment could hopefully be presented with new job opportunities.
These steps towards a working America would clearly lower the suicide rate and provide citizens with a sense of meaning and personal choice.

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