A recent feature in the New York Times, “How Working-Class Life Is Killing Americans, in Charts,” shows a substantial increase in the Deaths of Despair, deaths from drugs, alcohol, and suicide. In 2000, the death rate from these causes for Whites, under 50, without a college degree was less than 50 deaths per 100,000 people. By 2017, the death rate has increased by nearly 300%. Meanwhile, the death rate for those with a college degree was significantly lower in 2000, less than 20 deaths per 100,000 people. The death rate for those with a college degree has increased but by only 40%. How have changes to the welfare state contributed to the rise in the deaths by despair? What policies would you advocate to help reduce the deaths of despair?