There have long been stark economic differences between Fairfax County and McDowell. But as their fortunes have diverged even further over the past generation, their life expectancies have diverged, too. In McDowell, women\u2019s life expectancy has actually fallen by two years since 1985; it grew five years in Fairfax.<\/p>\n
\u201cPoverty is a thief,\u201d\u009d said Michael Reisch, a professor of social justice at the University of Maryland, testifying before a Senate panel on the issue. \u201cPoverty not only diminishes a person\u2019s life chances, it steals years from one\u2019s life.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
That reality is playing out across the country. For the upper half of the income spectrum, men who reach the age of 65 are living about six years longer than they did in the late 1970s. Men in the lower half are living just 1.3 years longer.<\/p>\n
This life-expectancy gap has started to surface in discussions among researchers, public health officials and Washington policy makers.<\/p>\n