The figures are staggering. The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, using figures from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, reports that mental illnesses and depression are the leading causes of disability and premature mortality, costing more than $150 billion in 1997 alone. Yes, staggering. What is more outrageous is that most of this cost can be prevented.
A new public health report says that a significant portion of those figures comes from pre-retirement people. We are not talking about much older senior citizens. In this case the figures represent pre-retirement people, that is, people between 55 and 65 years. This is the range of people who have struggled their whole lives to save, to gain an early retirement benefit through their unions or were fired or laid-off as cost saving measures by greedy or bankrupt employers. This is a highly vulnerable and angry cohort.

While all working people within this age range face these conditions, new research from the Feinberg School of Public Health at Northwestern University has found that African American and Latinos face an even great problem. The researchers noted that while it had been widely assumed that this kind of discrimination existed, there had been little research on it. Now they’ve found that for this age group, “Major depression and factors associated with depression were more frequent among members of minority groups than among whites.” The defeat of the right-wing proposition Proposition 54, which would have eliminated collecting race and ethnic backgrounds, is important for keeping this kind of research possible.

Some factors that bring on depression include being widowed, divorced or the pressures of providing care for a parent. Living alone is another documented factor. Providing social support in these instances makes sense, but with cutbacks in city and state budgets, these conditions will only grow worse. But, the Report continued, “economic factors most strongly associated with major depression were lack of employment and lack of health insurance coverage.” The combination of all of these factors is not uncommon and puts millions of people at great risk.

While depression is widespread and must be addressed for everyone, it is important to understand that this condition falls on certain populations more than others. Public health specialist Dorothy D. Dunlop writes in the November American Journal of Public Health, “Elevated depression rates among minority individuals are largely associated with greater health burdens and lack of health insurance, factors amenable to public policy interventions.” Progressives should demand that the federal Medicare program incorporate people 55 years and above. This demand was put forward and supported by the Clinton Administration and should be a major demand of all candidate running for the White House and Congress. The demand has not so far been derailed by the Bush anti-Medicare wrecking ball. On the contrary, by putting it forward the discussion in regard to Medicare can be returned to a desperately needed level of sanity. This is a simple measure and one that would be very popular. It would be a step toward gaining health services for everyone regardless of their age, race or ethnic background, gender and sexual orientation. City and state budgets must be expanded to provide social services to people at risk of this kind of depression. Federal dollars can and must initiate these programs. Massively increasing the funding of federal community health centers is a good step.

Where’s the money? If there is one thing that the Bush administration has shown with its demand for a $87 billion Iraq war budget, there is money. Removing the Republicans from Congress and the White House is the first step in redirecting that money to socially useful programs. Getting to that first step will be to get all candidates running for office to adopt programs that attract the broadest number of people. People aged 55 to 65, regardless of their backgrounds, are voters with rich histories of struggle. Avoiding their needs could spell electoral disaster, but mobilizing them with real solutions is a strategy for victory.