Bernie Sanders on life expectancy: what the evidence says · JRE #2341
SUBJECT: LIFE EXPECTANCY
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
our life expectancy in America is lower than it is in other major countries. You know that? Yes. It's four years younger than, four years shorter life spans than other wealthy countries. If you're working class in America, you live seven years shorter life than the 1%
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
US life expectancy does trail its wealthy peers: Our World in Data notes the pre-pandemic US figure was about two years below the average for high-income countries, and comparisons against the subset of large wealthy nations (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and others) put the 2024 gap near 3.7 years, close to the four years cited. On the second point, the landmark JAMA study by Chetty and colleagues found the life expectancy gap between the richest 1 percent and poorest 1 percent of Americans was 14.6 years for men and 10.1 years for women, so an income-linked gap of roughly seven years for a broad working-class group versus the top 1 percent is directionally correct and, if anything, understates the documented disparity. The direction and rough scale of both claims match the evidence, though the exact peer-country figure depends on the comparison group and the income gap is wider than seven years at the extremes: largely accurate.