A recent article in Science Daily expounds on the trials and tribulations of the American middle-aged. It appears that compared to both earlier generations and to the middle-aged in peer countries, all is not well. They suffer relatively more loneliness and depression, weaker physical strength and declining memory. The middle-aged of other wealthy nations, particularly those of Nordic Europe, have not experienced such declines. Indeed for them, midlife well-being has improved.

Psychologists at Arizona State University analyzed survey data from 17 countries in order to explain why trends in U.S. midlife health differ so sharply from elsewhere.

A major factor is public support for families. Unlike the U.S., European countries have been steadily increasing spending on family benefits. Programs that are particularly important in midlife, when many are balancing full-time work with raising children, programs such as cash transfers for families with children, income support during parental leave, and subsidized childcare, are common in Europe but weaker or lacking in the U.S. These programs not only support families but contribute to the “social wage,” increasing and equalizing family incomes.

Significant of course is health care. Americans spend more on health care than any other wealthy nation, yet access is often more limited and costs higher. Rising out-of-pocket expenses put pressure on household budgets and cause anxiety, and medical debt.

Another factor that stands out is income inequality. Inequality has steadily increased in the U.S. since the early 2000s while stabilizing or declining in most European countries. The U.S. is by far the most unequal of the advanced nations. The authors of the study found that inequality contributes to worse health outcomes and higher levels of loneliness among the middle-aged. Other studies have shown that it also increases poverty and restricts access to education, employment and social services.

Inequality has been well established as a major contributor to an unhealthy society. In their book The Spirit Level, authors Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett illustrate how inequality results in higher rates of violent crime, drug abuse, mental illness and other social ills. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz confirms Wilkinson and Pickett in his book The Price of Inequality, explaining that moneyed interests have made the U.S. the most unequal advanced industrial country while undermining democracy. I have posted previously about a study published in the journal Nature Mental Health that links greater inequality to adverse structural changes in children’s brains.

Fortunately here in Canada we are far less unequal than our southern neighbours, much closer in fact to Scandinavian levels. Our government continues to contribute to an equitable society by strengthening the social safety net with programs such as $10 per day child care and dental and pharmacare programs. Other policies that deserve mention are legislation banning scab labour in federally regulated industries and the Sustainable Jobs Act to align the country’s approach to skills development, job creation and regional economic development with climate goals.

Nonethelsss, we cannot afford to become complacent. According to Statistics Canada, income inequality hit a record high in early 2025. High-income households gained in income from rising wages and investments while low-income households have seen their disposable incomes decline. Social-assistance programs have not kept up with the needs of low-income individuals while the tax system has become more regressive.

The miseries of middle-aged Americans caused by inequality is tragic. This is the world’s richest country, yet its social outcomes are the worst among the wealthy nations. Not to engage in schadenfreude, but their misery does at least perform a service for us: it graphically portrays a path we do not want to follow.