Dr Lehmann-Bender on basic income

Dr Lehmann-Bender on basic income




Today I want to talk to you about what makes people sick or healthy. You might think it's their genes, but actually things like people's race and gender, their housing and emplyoment or their childhood experiences and their access to healthy food have the greatest effect on their health, we call these things the social determinants of health. And we know that income or having enough money is a really important part of that, because it's important not to be stressed about where the next meal is going to come from or if you're gonna be able to pay your rent on time. Now we know that chronic stress increases people's cortisol levels and a high cortisol level increases your infllammation and your risk of things like heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and many types of cancer.

High stress doesn't actualy affect rich and poor people the same way. A CEO who works 70 hours a week will actually have a lower cortisol level, because she has less stress and more control over her job whereas a single mom who works two jobs and is suffering from chronic stress of poverty, because she's worried about paying rent or her kids are gonna be able to eat, has higher cortisol levels and is more likely to be more unwell. And as physicians it's our job to help people live longer and be healthier.

As the gap between rich and poor grows and more and more people have trouble making ends meet, it's really hard for us to address the social xxxx of health. I see in my clinical practice all the time, that poor people are more likely to be sicker and use more of the health care system, which costs more money and are more likely to die earlier than the rich counterparts. That's why it is important for us to address things like poverty and homelessness. We have to prevent these things before they occur.

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