Buying Time

America, the land of inequality. Where everybody gets to play life's little lottery. A recent article noted that Canadians live three years longer on average than our American cousins. But wait, there's more.

Health care in the States has become something of a political football. The Republicans just don't want too many Americans on public health care. During the presidential campaign, the Cheeto Benito promised the world - better health care, cheaper premiums, everyone would be covered - A, B, and C.

Once in office, he handed the job to Paul Ryan who did exactly the opposite. Fewer services, higher costs and upwards of 24-million of his countrymen to be turfed from the health care rolls. Rightwing Republicans argued that wasn't enough. Moderate Republicans dug in, fearful of getting bounced by angry voters in the 2018 mid terms.

Tossing a little more fuel on the fire is a new study into the role of inequality and longevity in the United States of Trumpland that finds America's rich live a staggering fifteen years longer than America's poor.

Increasing inequality means wealthy Americans can now expect to live up to 15 years longer than their poor counterparts, reports in the British medical journal the Lancet have found.

Researchers said these disparities appear to be worsened by the American health system itself, which relies on for-profit insurance companies, and is the most expensive in the world.

America, once known as the "land of opportunity" has become the "land of inequality" where poor, even working poor people pay for their poverty with their lives.