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‘Let them die?’ Life expectancy collapses in the US
ZOLTAN ZIGEDY looks at the latest disturbing figures and wonders if this is US capitalism’s next attempt to roll back what little welfare it provides

IN the spirit of Jonathan Swift’s satirical tract A Modest Proposal, we might facetiously attribute the recent decline in US life expectancy to a concerted effort to strengthen the social safety net.

Politicians have been maintaining for decades that it would be necessary to reduce social security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits to keep the systems solvent.

Leaders of both political parties have urged cutting benefits, changing eligibility requirements or raising the already high age thresholds to preserve the reserves for future recipients.

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