Nurturing Long-Term Economic
Development in Individuals by Leslie R. Rubin, Ph.D.
Sustainable economic development requires the active participation of every individual in a community. Even though many may feel they are recipients, rather than initiators of influence in a community, how people allocate their time, money and energy does impact the whole community. How then are the distribution decisions made? A person's view of the surrounding economic environment is influenced by his/her health, wealth and education. When these factors are optimized, the utilization of one's resources of time, money and energy can be applied to the fulfillment of future goals. When any one or combination of the regulating elements are compromised, individual goals become increasingly focused on the present. Sub-optimal environmental conditions such as a high level of unemployment, an educational system that is out of synch with changes in an economy and a lifestyle that enables a 'possibility to' become a 'probability of' disease further diminish options for resource distribution. So, how are health, wealth and education linked to sustainable economic development?
Individuals Are Accountable
Health and productivity are linked. The lower our level of health, the less productive we can be. Let's face it; the biggest health challenge that we have in the United States is weight gain, too much weight gain. The added weight compromises our ability to perform long-term and is directly linked to chronic health problems, such as hypertension and diabetes. A study published in 1998 (Wolf AM, et al., Obes Res. 1998) calculated lost productivity costs of $3.9 billion dollars in the United States due to obesity. Direct medical costs due to obesity were an additional $51.6 billion dollars. As the rate of obesity in the U.S. continues to climb, costs are escalating. A 5.9% increase in adult obesity was reported for the period 1991 through 1998. Between 2000 and 2001 there was an additional 1% increase. (Ali H. Mokdad, et al., Nutrition Research Newsletter) Today, the U.S. average rate of obesity is near 21% with 18-25 year olds at greatest risk. (Rick Hall, MS, RD, NUTRITION) If the current trend continues, we will see more chronic disease in younger and younger people compounding an already huge economic cost. Unless individuals assume responsibility for their behavior, accountability in the form of sharing more in the direct costs of health care will be imposed on individuals.
Assets Are Critical
Wealth is defined by Webster (copyright 1957) as: 'Any useful material thing capable of being bought, sold or stocked for future disposition.' Economic development benefits a community by increasing the wealth of the individual through a transfer process. This process is fundamentally circular in its behavior so it is equally true to state that individuals drive economic development through wealth investment. When assets can be conveyed to the next generation, sustainable wealth is achieved. The transfer is complicated however, because the economic environment is dynamic. Being part of a dynamic system means an individual will have to actively manage change in order to retain assets or risk loss. Since resistance to change is part of everyone's being, the approach to wealth development must include a tool to lower resistance to change. This is where the third gauge, i.e. education can become an enabler.
Education Is Life Long
Education can lower the barrier to change. Lifelong education is more than book learning and accumulating educational degrees. It is awareness and analysis of the world in which one operates. It is also the integration of new knowledge into an individual's daily routine. Education is not a means unto itself but is a way of living. Teaching process and an understanding of the fundamentals upon which the process depends yields confidence. As confidence grows, an individual's flexibility and capacity for change increases. The following illustration will bring all of the preceding points into focus. Single mothers with children have become a large sub-group of the working poor. They are at greater risk of illness resulting from stress, exhaustion and inadequate diets than their married counterparts. While it can be stated that putting away money for the future could ultimately create a better quality of life, a single mother will focus her resources on immediate needs, crisis situations and near term obligations while maintaining a fragile balance between her work obligations and the needs of her children. To make my point even more realistic, a single mother with two children who has a high school education making $11.25 per hour with benefits including health insurance, will on average have a pre-tax monthly paycheck of $1950. If rent, a modest car payment, federal and state taxes, health care contribution to cover her children's health insurance and food are then subtracted, the balance is $443 per month. The remaining dollars have to cover childcare, clothes, fuel for her car and out-of-pocket health care costs especially when the contribution from the children's father is erratic. A future that promises complete economic relief and retirement with the well being to enjoy it, is a myth. The well-being of individuals and the sustainable success of a community are inextricably woven. If the trio of health, wealth and education are optimized, individuals will use their resources of time, money and energy to advance long-term economic viability. So while we may not be able to achieve the ideal, individuals making gradual improvements in their health, in education and in their wealth will be enough for now. The requirements are simple. We need to physically move to burn more calories, we need to ask 'why?' and then go seek the answer and we need to do without a tangible convenience for a short time to understand that these assets have value to us. It is the repetition of these activities by a large group that will lead to a better future.
