No, not really. If anything, it's likely those people might have a lot higher risk of suicide. (deaths of despair)
"Because at 54 years old, nobody wants me. I can’t retrain for anything else. For older people, you kind of get trapped. For every one that does well, there’s 30 that it destroys."
That feeling that nobody wants you is a killer. It may be true, it may not, but that lack of hope just prevents anything good from happening. "I can't retrain for anything" - you're defeated right from the start, and it's obvious people don't even want to take the leap to try.
It's hardest on people that had it good, and then lost it. Much worse than those that never had it, in that you feel like you're losing something. (endowment effect)
Here's an interesting article the WaPo did about whites and a lack of hope. While there is a race component to it, I think it'd equally apply to other races where people have had a good/stable life, but lost it.
From the article it seems that whites in the same situation as blacks have the same mortality rates - "If you compare whites with a high school degree or less with blacks with a high school degree or less, their mortality rates have converged."
It suggests that the group having higher status previously does not change things all that much.
I don't think it's about the groups having higher status or not, say whites vs blacks, but in the article they say they believe the cause is:
"These deaths of despair have been accompanied by reduced labor force participation, reduced marriage rates, increases in reports of poor health and poor mental health. So we are beginning to thread a story in that it's possible that [the trend is] consistent with the labor market collapsing for people with less than a college degree. In turn, those people are being less able to form stable marriages, and in turn that has effects on the kind of economic and social supports that people need in order to thrive."
Like you said, the rates are converging when they have a high school degree or less. These are the kinds of people that get hit the hardest when the labor market is collapsing.
It's not that "whites had it before and now they don't", it's "I used to believe I was entitled to a job if I wanted to work hard, and that would pay enough to live, but now that doesn't seem to be true." People just don't know what to do now and are feeling hopeless.
Is there a reason to think they are feeling more hopeless then those who were in that situation longer? That was my point - when you compare groups in same situation, they are similarly hopeless regardless of previous good life or not. It is hard and hopeless for both groups.
Other comparisons in article always compared different socioeconomic groups - whites without degree with all blacks - that is not the same because it counts in middle class blacks.
Maybe "good life" was too strong. Really I meant to say at least positively employed. Losing a job you've had for a while (even if it's just a year) is a pretty big shock. You feel worse losing the job than probably when you were previously unemployed (although you're arguably better off, because at least you were working over that time).
I agree it's hard and hopeless for both groups, and I think it's only going to get worse. Comparing hopelessness I don't think really provides much insight though, but what that hopelessness might cause people to do. (increased drug use, suicide, etc.) What my point was is that that hopelessness isn't going to help them retrain and it might actively keep people from seeking it. I think we're missing out on a whole mental health component.
"Because at 54 years old, nobody wants me. I can’t retrain for anything else. For older people, you kind of get trapped. For every one that does well, there’s 30 that it destroys."
That feeling that nobody wants you is a killer. It may be true, it may not, but that lack of hope just prevents anything good from happening. "I can't retrain for anything" - you're defeated right from the start, and it's obvious people don't even want to take the leap to try.
It's hardest on people that had it good, and then lost it. Much worse than those that never had it, in that you feel like you're losing something. (endowment effect)
Here's an interesting article the WaPo did about whites and a lack of hope. While there is a race component to it, I think it'd equally apply to other races where people have had a good/stable life, but lost it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/05/15/the-w... http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/23/52108333...