These findings come even though here in the U.S. we spend $8,600 a year per person on healthcare, which is more than twice as much Britain, France and Sweden, "even with their universal healthcare systems."
“The size of the health disadvantage was pretty stunning,” Woolf told reporters in a telephone briefing.
Americans did worse in nine areas: infant mortality; injury and homicide rates; teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases; the AIDS virus; drug abuse; obesity and diabetes; heart disease; lung disease; and disabilities.
And many of these affect young people, not the elderly. Americans are seven times more likely to be murdered than people in the other countries, and 20 times more likely to be killed by a gun.
"I don't think most parents know that, on average, infants, children, and adolescents in the U.S. die younger and have greater rates of illness and injury than youth in other countries,” Woolf said.
“For many years, Americans have been dying at younger ages than people in almost all other high-income countries,” the expert panel wrote.
We also have a higher infant mortality rate than the other countries, with 32.7 deaths per 100,000. Other countries have infant mortality rates between 15 and 25 deaths per 100,000.
The report wasn't all bad for the U.S., Americans have lower death rates from cancer, the No. 2 cause of death, and do better at controlling blood pressure and cholesterol. “Americans who reach age 75 can expect to live longer than people in the peer countries,” the report reads.
The experts who wrote the report suggested that our culture here in the U.S. has much to do with the negative findings, and suggested that "policymakers" take action to reverse the trend.
From Press TV: This episode of the show reports on the Anaheim solidarity marches across the U.S., Frack attack rallies in D.C., Stand Up Chicago and raise the minimum wage rallies, the Obama fundraiser in Portland as well as the AIDS awareness rallies.
This episode also interviews many Occupy Wall Street protesters including the “Stand Up Chicago” policy analyst Elizabeth Parisian.
Today, actor Mark Ruffalo, star of the current movie "The Avengers," released a video calling on Americans to join the campaign. He was joined in the video by Coldplay's Chris Martin and Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello. The video, above, www.robinhoodtax.org, features Ruffalo drawing a Robin Hood mask on a dollar bill and calling on others to do the same.
Dozens of national organizations, celebrities including actor/director Mark Ruffalo, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello and Coldplay's Chris Martin, renowned economists including Jeffrey Sachs, former Goldman Sachs executives and global leaders including Desmond Tutu joined today for an unprecedented coalition, calling for a "Robin Hood Tax" on Wall Street.
In New York, Founding Fathers and notable figures will start showing their support for the Robin Hood Tax on Wall Street at statues in major squares in Manhattan, donning them with Robin Hood hats and masks
In 15 cities across the country, including New York, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles, America's biggest nurses union, National Nurses United, along with students, climate and AIDS activists, and faith leaders, will visit branches of JP Morgan Chase Tuesday, coinciding with an appearance before Congress by JP Morgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, whose trading loss of more than $2 billion caused many to underscore the need for new regulation and taxation of the financial sector to prevent future incidents.
"The Robin Hood Tax campaign that launches in the US today offers us a solution to kick-start our economy, to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, to help those who have lost out as a result of the financial crisis they did nothing to cause - not just here in America, but around the world," said Ruffalo.
Economists estimate that we could generate hundreds of billions of dollars annually by placing a small tax on stocks, bonds, derivatives and currencies. Experts also suggest that such a policy would help limit the reckless short-term speculation that threatens financial stability. Over 1,000 leading economists have endorsed the policy, including Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs and Lawrence Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute.
"Wall Street and the big banks are exploiting tax loopholes while generating record profits and being rewarded with billions in bailouts and bonuses. Most of the recovery thus far has benefited the top 1%, not the 99%," said Jean Ross, RN and co-president, National Nurses United. "The Robin Hood Tax is easy to enforce, tough to evade and won't touch the bank accounts, pensions or savings of the vast majority of the American people."
"The Robin Hood Tax is a tiny tax with a big ambition – to get us back on our feet through nothing more complicated than asking Wall Street to pay their fair share," said Leigh Blake of Act V, an AIDS advocacy group.
"People with AIDS are rejecting austerity budgets. A Robin Hood Tax on Wall Street could literally end the AIDS pandemic," said Jennifer Flynn of Health GAP (Global Action Project). "We simply can't afford not to implement it."
"The Robin Hood Tax will not just begin to bring basic tax fairness to Wall Street, it will help curb the destructive gambling that drove the crisis and, as we see so clearly at JPMorgan Chase, continues to threaten our economic stability and security," said Liz Ryan Murray, Policy Director of National People's Action.
"There are huge, quick transactions that add to the churning and speculation in international markets that has helped to bring the world economy to the perilous state that it's in right now," said economist Jeffrey Sachs. "The time has really arrived to put a Robin Hood tax in place. Many countries around the world are doing so. It's time for the United States to do the same."
From 1914 until 1966, the United States enforced a Robin Hood tax that raised revenue from every sale or transfer of stock. Forty countries have employed this practice—and the policy is expected to be adopted in Europe this year.
Friday, April 20, 11am Foreclosure Auction Blockade
Queens Civil Supreme Court, 88-11 Sutphin Blvd, Room 25
Protect the Queens communities most affected by the vulture profit-making inherent to foreclosure auctions.
Friday, April 20th, 2pm Weekly Wall Street Marches
Liberty Square
Every Friday Occupy Wall Street converges in the streets for Spring Training marches from Liberty Square to Wall Street in preparation for May Day, followed by a community pot-luck dinner! Check out this Spring Training video for more on the fun we have every week.
Saturday, April 21, 2pm Weekly Occupy Wall Street Orientations
The Gandhi statue in the southwest corner of Union Square
Learn more about how to get involved with Occupy. Can’t make it? Email Tascha and the rest of the crew at orientation@nycga.net for more information.
Sunday, April 22, 4pm Occupy Earth Day
BP Gas Station at 300 Lafayette st.
Celebrate Earth Day Occupy-style and call for “System Change Not Climate Change!” The future we are fighting for will be won in the streets.
Wednesday, April 25th, 4pm 1T Day National Day of Action Against Student Debt
Meet at Union Square
On April 25 the total amount of student loan debt in the U.S. is due to top 1 trillion dollars, and we will march from Union Square to Wall Street to mark this historic day. Participants include Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir, the Plus Brigades, Billionaires for Debt, and other OWS performers.
Wednesday, April 25, 11am ACT UP and OCCUPY! 25th Anniversary Action
City Hall (Broadway and Murray St)
ACT UP is calling for a small tax (0.05%) on Wall Street transactions and speculative trades in order to raise the money needed to end the global AIDS epidemic and provide universal healthcare in the US. At 11am meet at City Hall for an important demonstration and march that ends on Wall St.
Tuesday, May 1 A Day Without the 99%: May Day 2012
On May 1st we will take the streets to reclaim our jobs, our communities, our lives. Occupy Wall Street stands in solidarity with the calls for a General Strike, a Day Without the 99%, and more! There will be actions throughout the day, including a 4 p.m. rally at Union Square that culminates with a march to Wall Street at 5:30 p.m. Click here for the full May Day schedule. Text “@maydayaction” to 23559 for day-of text updates on ongoing events, and if you would like to be added to the announcement and / or discussion listserv, or have any questions in general, please contact mayday@nycga.net.
