USpolitics

• Wealthy Americans live longer than the working class. People living in the top 1% of counties ranked by median household income live an average of 84.3 years, while people living in the bottom 50% of counties ranked by median household income live an average of 77.4 years – a difference of 7 years.
• Rural counties face the greatest disparities. Urban and suburban counties with a median household income of $100,000 have an average life expectancy of 81.6 years, while small rural counties with a median household income of $30,000 have an average life expectancy of 71.7 years – a 10-year gap.
• Geographic disparities persist. In Loudoun County, Virginia, the highest-earning county in the U.S., life expectancy is 84 years. Just 350 miles away, in McDowell County, West Virginia, one of the lowest-earning counties in the U.S., the life expectancy is 69 years – a 15-year difference.
• Higher incomes translate to longer lives. Among rural counties, a $10,000 increase in median annual household income is associated with an additional 2.6 years of life expectancy. Among lower- and lower-middle income populations in urban and suburban counties, the same income increase is associated with a 2.1-year gain in life expectancy.

U.S. Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat, did his best to make “good trouble” during President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress since taking office in January.

Brandishing his cane, the Lone Star septuagenarian rose from his seat in the U.S. House chamber and challenged Trump’s claim that he has a sweeping mandate to enact the tidal wave of changes his Republican administration has unleashed within the federal government.

Green stood alone, with his Democratic colleagues content to sit silent and hold quaint church fan signs with words that called the president a liar and criticized billionaire bureaucrat Elon Musk.

Youtube.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26150885

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26150229

Archive Link: https://archive.ph/PvXZ2

Substack link: https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-purge-of-the-deep-state-and-the-440

This article is read by Eunice Wong, a Juilliard-trained actor, featured on Audible’s list of Best Women Narrators. Her work is on the annual Best Audiobooks lists of the New York Times, Audible, AudioFile, & Library Journal. www.eunicewong.actor

Text Originally posted Feb. 18, 2025^[[1] https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-purge-of-the-deep-state-and-the-440]

Chris Hedges: The Purge of the Deep State and the Road to Dictatorship [15:11 | FEB 23 2025 | The Chris Hedges YouTube Channel | https://youtu.be/Z0qesDVvhzY]

Donald Trump’s dismantling of the deep state presages the formation of something far worse.

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Elon Musk’s team has descended on an already understaffed Social Security Administration, which now faces further workforce cuts and closures of vital local offices. The consequences could be significant for millions of the most vulnerable Americans.

The change would effectively transfer financial responsibility from oil drillers, auto manufacturers and others and leave Americans to face greater direct costs as warming continues.

ICE arrived in unmarked vehicles to snatch our neighbors. Here’s how a North Carolina community organized in response.

President Donald Trump this week signed an executive order intended to expand the White House’s authority over various independent regulatory agencies that Congress set up to be shielded from direct White House control, including the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

The move by Trump’s provocative former adviser came a month after Elon Musk’s controversial salute on inauguration day

The Department of Government Efficiency is funded — and acts — like a federal agency. But the White House has shielded DOGE from the rules that govern such agencies, ProPublica found as it examines the group and expands a list of DOGE workers.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the former Senate Republican leader who is in large part responsible for helping destroy American democracy, will announce on Thursday that he is not running for reelection, the Associated Press reported.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he’s considering sending money directly to Americans, using funds from the claimed savings of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency.