09.02.11
The Daily Obvious
There are “unacceptably high levels of mental illness in the United States,” said Ileana Arias, principal deputy director of the CDC. “Essentially, about 25 percent of adult Americans reported having a mental illness in the previous year. In addition to the high level, we were surprised by the cost associated with that — we estimated about $300 billion in 2002.”
“About half of Americans will experience some form of mental health problem at some point in their life, a new government report warns, and more must be done to help them,” it reads.
Eric Cantor immediately suggested the deficit could be helped by cutting health services and the Centers for Disease Control budgets by 25 percent or more.
Let’s see.
Ten years of war shouldered by a small percentage of the nation’s young men and women. A national atmosphere predicated on the propagation of fear. Mass unemployment. Poverty. Economic instability that causes people to worry about losing their job permanently, all the time. Universally hostile corporate workplaces. Gross inequality and wage stagnation. Inability to get adequate healthcare when one most needs it, unless wealthy.
Whatever pressures could be causing widespread mental illnesses in the USA?
“It isn’t clear why so many Americans suffer from mental illness, Arias added,” the piece continues. “This is an issue that needs to be addressed …”
