Living longer – and shorter

Americans living longer than ever. US life expectancy steadily growing. Life expectancy higher than ever. More years in our lives.

All news headlines after new census bureau statistics were released on Wednesday. What’s true is that an American’s life expectancy at birth rose from 77.8 to 77.9 years. But the numbers tell the real story.

First, infant mortality went up, from 6.8 per thousand live births to 6.9. Higher life expectancy only happens for those who survive being born.

Most important, there are forty-one countries whose citizens live longer than those in the US, such as Andorra at 83.5 years, Singapore at 81.7, and Australia at 80.5.

So maybe we’re living a month or so longer than we used to, but we’re living years shorter than others. And it’s getting worse: just 20 years ago we ranked 11th.

What’s the reason for the US decline in world rankings? According to the Voice of America, independent researchers say America's poor showing compared to other industrialized democracies results, in part, because of widespread obesity and a lack of health insurance.

A good diet and a good doctor? Americans might also need some more accurate news reporting.

The tipping point

Jessica Osborne enjoyed serving Becky and her family every Friday at the Angola, Indiana Pizza Hut where she’s a waitress. Jessica had wanted to study photography at a local college but couldn’t get financial aid. Becky had problems, too: her husband and eldest daughter were killed in a car accident. Becky liked Jessica’s warm and consistently friendly manner, and wanted to help out with a large tip, and was able to after receiving a large settlement. The total bill amount was not made public but the tip percentage was probably in the neighbor hood of forty thousand percent: Becky’s tip was for $10,000.

Surveys of restaurant customers indicate an average tip of 15 to 20 percent; the national average is 18.6% of the total bill including tax; Philadelphia has the biggest tippers. One in twenty tip 25% or more, one in eight tip 10% or less, and one in fifty tip under 2%. By the way, restaurant service experts suggest that instead of punishing bad service with no tip, it’s better to complain to management.

Tipping goes way back in the USA: George Washington tipped his brother-in-law’s slaves in 1768. The earliest tipping records date to 16th century England, but tipping is likely as old as business itself.

But it’s not universal: in Australia, China, Denmark, Japan, and Iceland, restaurant tipping is the exception, not the rule. The reason: Researchers believe that consumer tipping behavior is motivated by the region’s social norms. Which brings us back to Indiana.

With customers like Becky, I don’t think Pizza Hut will have any trouble lining up a replacement for Jessica.

Minimum Wage, Switzerland, and the Iraqi war

Congress voted to increase the minimum wage to seven dollars twenty-five cents per hour by 2009. The federal minimum wage was last increased in 1997.

Working 40 hours a week, taking two weeks unpaid vacation and 8 unpaid holidays will earn a minimum wage worker just over $14,000 a year. I thought it might be interesting to see what other countries do.

The first minimum wage laws were introduced by Australia in 1896. Today over ninety percent of countries have a minimum wage. Australia, Ireland, and Luxembourg all come in at around $22,000 a year, with the UK, France, and the Netherlands close behind at around $20,000. But #1 at $29,000 a year is Switzerland. And we have an immigration problem? How come everyone’s coming here and not to Switzerland?

There were some surprises: Japan’s is nearly 20% lower than the US at $11,300 a year. And Iraq’s is $1,900 a year for skilled workers. Let’s see, including the bill just passed by Congress, the GAO says we spent $400 billion on the war in Iraq, which works out to $46,500 per Iraqi citizen who is at least 20 years of age. You’d think they’d at least make that the minimum wage. But then it would be more than three times the US’s – and nine times more than that of Kansas, whose minimum wage is just $2.65 an hour for jobs not subject to the federal minimum.

It actually turns out that folks are still planning on going to Kansas. Between 1995 and 2025 Kansas expects to gain 102,000 immigrants. And what about Switzerland? According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, 21.6 percent of the population are foreigners, placing Switzerland with one of the highest proportions of foreigners in the world.

I guess we’re not in Kansas anymore!