A recent announcement by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) shows an alarming increase in the suicide rate. The age-adjusted suicide rate increased 33% between the years 1999 and 2017. The increased suicide rates were found among both men and women.
For males the suicide rate increased 26% between 1999 and 2006. For females, the suicide rate increased 53% over the same period.
Another key finding was the fact that rural individuals have a suicide rate that was 1.8 times higher than that of urban individuals.
The authors found that, “The (suicide) rate increased on average by about 1% per year from 1999 through 2006 and by 2% per year from 2006 through 2017.” Directly following the economic recession in 2007-2008 there was an uptick in the suicide rate.
The laws of capitalist development have exported industrial production from the imperial core countries to peripheral countries in search of the maximum profit. Millions of manufacturing jobs have left the United States, worker incomes have stagnated while the capitalist class enriched themselves tremendously.
The capitalist economic system does not provide safety, security, and well-being for the mass of people. Rather, we see a decline in the material conditions facing American workers and a steadily increasing suicide rate.