[Hac-announce] April 2021 Book Discussion: "Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism" by Anne Case & Angus Deaton

[kvngough at aol.com]

Our book for April is Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism by Anne Case & Angus Deaton. The discussion will take place Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 2:30 pm via Zoom. (Note: With the spring weather, I am hopeful that beginning in May we will be able to meet in person outside.)

>From Amazon:
Life expectancy in the United States has recently fallen for three years in a row – a reversal not seen since 1918 or in any other wealthy nation in modern times. In the past two decades, deaths of despair from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholism have risen dramatically, and now claim hundreds of thousands of American lives each year – and they're still rising…
Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism paints a troubling portrait of the American dream in decline. For the white working class, today's America has become a land of broken families and few prospects. As the college-educated become healthier and wealthier, adults without a degree are literally dying from pain and despair. In this critically important book, Case and Deaton tie the crisis to the weakening position of labor, the growing power of corporations, and, above all, to a rapacious health-care sector that redistributes working-class wages into the pockets of the wealthy. Capitalism, which over two centuries lifted countless people out of poverty, is now destroying the lives of blue-collar America.*
"The system is broken and every bit of it needs fixing. This is a sobering – and essential – book." – Diane Coyle, Enlightened Economist

The book discussion is a virtual event using the Zoom platform:
1) If you have signed up for the discussion on Meetup, you have access to the Zoom link for the meeting.
2) If you are not a 'regular' attendee and have not signed up for the discussion on Meetup but plan on attending, please send us an e-mail (kvngough at aol.com) and we will send you an invitation to the meeting.
Here is a link to a short video that discusses how to join a Zoom meeting: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-How-Do-I-Join-A-Meeting-?zcid=1588
Hope you and your family are safe and well,
Kevin (& Paula)
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