Opportunity Is Here

If you have to be anywhere sometimes it just pays to be here. Maybe pays isn't the right word maybe its in your best interests or rather better for your health if you're in our region. Two stories made its way to our attention. One concerning health and health care for the older generation and one from a business / employment opportunities point of view. We ignored the story of the rich concerning not being able to buy better health and not getting their children vaccinated.

"While poorer people are more likely to die sooner than their more well-off counterparts, researchers say their finding supports the view that the primary pathway between health and wealth is that poor health leads to a depletion of household wealth, rather than being poor causes one's health to decline. Researchers found that the substantial changes in wealth that occurred in the years 1992 and 2002 in the United States through increases in stock prices and housing prices did not alter the probability of subsequent death." - Rand Corporation (News Release)

The issue isn't about wealth as it is about health, that's our concern. We don't understand why the researcher ignored the segment between ages 65 and 70. Since we don't have access to the full study we're not certain why there is that gap between the group. Neither the abstract nor the Rand Corporation press release mentions an explanation for the age gap.

“If you get sick at older ages, you will die sooner in England than in the United States,” James P. Smith (RAND co-author) said. “It appears that at least in terms of survival at older ages with chronic disease, the medical system in the United States may be better than the system in England. The study expands upon an earlier analysis by Banks and Smith that found that Americans aged 55 to 64 suffered from diseases such as diabetes at rates up to twice those seen among similarly aged people in England. The trend was observed across all socioeconomic groups. Researchers analyzed information from two comparable surveys of people age 50 and over in the United States and England — the Health and Retirement Survey and the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing — funded by the National Institute on Aging in the United States."- Rand Corporation (News Release)

The information published in this month's DEMOGRAPHY magazine reported "evidence using a long panel of American respondents that their subsequent mortality is not related to large changes in wealth experienced during the prior 10-year period." What years that covered also isn't part of the record. So if money doesn't matter BUSINESSWEEK pointed to our regions as the:

"Best Place to Start Over No. 1: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.V., MSA - D.C. offers diverse opportunities for people looking to start over. It may primarily be a spot for government, which has stabilized local employment, but other industries such as defense, IT, biotech, energy, and hospitalities also contribute significantly to the economy, according to the Greater Washington Initiative. The region ranks No. 1 globally for government research and development spending per capita, and its 50 federal labs and institutes are more than in any other region of the U.S., according to the organization." - Bloomberg BusinessWeek (No1)

In the second place position isn't a city but a region which if things were better in Richmond would stretch from North to South. Unfortunately it doesn't and doesn't include the newest addition to our view, South Carolina. Coming in second place if you had to start over is:

Best Place to Start Over No. 2: Raleigh-Cary, N.C., MSA - Businessweek.com previously ranked Raleigh among the country's strongest job markets. A large percentage of Raleigh's economy is devoted to government, education, and health care, according to Raleigh Economic Development. Using Research Triangle resources, the area hopes to expand its electric vehicles, photonics, IT, medical, and biotech industries. - Bloomberg BusinessWeek (No2)

It's good to be an American. At least for today and until the next study comes out contradicting this research. Just for today if you have to be somewhere this is the place to be. In the nation, at this time, in this region - for now. If you have to be somewhere here is where you should be. Now if we could just be happier, healthier and wiser.