Friday 23 July 2010

It's a bad news business

Some very good news today from the Office of National Statistics (this, from the BBC ):

Death rates in England and Wales are at their lowest-ever recorded levels, official figures show.

Yet again.

Despite health concerns surrounding rising levels of obesity and alcohol use, death rates for both men and women fell by about 5% in 2009 from 2008.

Could it possibly be that those health concerns have been exaggerated just a tad?

Separate research released last year predicted that babies born today in the UK and other wealthy nations could expect to live to 100.

Not that this this will stop people like David Kessler telling us that children born today will die before their parents. Never, you will note, 'younger than their parents'—which is what they actually mean. They deliberately leave the phrasing open to imply that parents will outlive their children. Either way, they're wrong and every year new life expectancy figures show that they're wrong.

But, as I mention in Velvet Glove, Iron Fist (pp. 300-303), there is a British tradition to bury these annual tidings of good news. This year they have been buried with this:

Health gap 'wider than in Great Depression'

The health inequality gap in Britain is greater than it was during the post-World War I slump and the Great Depression, a study suggests.


Guess which story the BBC is focusing on (magnifying glass required, bottom right)...





5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Privatise the BBC then nutters who promote this cobblers will have to pay for it themselves.

A study suggests;
translation.........

A made up pulled out the air set of dubious figures suggests a load of useless gits are kept in well paid jobs to invent stuff !
Paid for by the taxpayer as well no doubt.

Anonymous said...

Hasn't alcohol consumption been falling since around 2005?

Spartan said...

Not in my world, Anon and neither has the falling :)

Anonymous said...

Many years ago(60s) ,my father warned me, the BBC will push for
an England not fit for an Englishman to live in.

With the help of The Guardian and
The Commons of course.



The Free Corps

DaveA said...

Chris, you have been a busy boy, I feel a bit guilty about my email the other day.

See you soon.