Economic Inequality, the Climate Crisis, and Today’s Mental Health Epidemic are Linked

Trump will make each problem worse, but communities can be the medicine needed for change

Economic inequality is far larger in the U.S. than in any other high-income nation. Two of the most significant upshots are the inability to significantly reduce carbon emissions, and an epidemic of mental health problems. To address the latter two issues, economic inequality must be noticeably decreased. The Trump administration will try to prevent this. But change is possible.

Since the 1980s there has been a massive transfer of wealth upward to the wealthiest people. Today, the top 1 percent of households possess 15 times more wealth than the bottom 50 percent combined. The least-wealthy 50 percent hold less than 4 percent of the nation’s wealth

As this has transpired, the average wages and wealth of most workers have barely grown.

The siphoning of income and wealth upward has concentrated social, economic, and political power in the hands of a small group of big corporate and banking executives and people with inherited wealth. Our nation has become a modern-day version of the European feudal state that our founders rebelled against to form the U.S.

The new feudal lords work to keep wages low. They also pressure the politicians their money helped elect to eviscerate regulations, cut their taxes, give their firms huge subsidies, slash funding for public services, privatize publicly owned resources, and in other ways skewer our democracy to solidify their wealth and influence.

Our inability to deeply slash greenhouse gas emissions is one outcome. Despite having just 4 percent of the world’s population, the U.S. is responsible for about 25 percent of the total emissions that are destabilizing the climate. In 2023 we generated 11.3 percent of total global emissions, second only to China’s 30.1 percent of emissions. On a per capita basis, our emissions remain twice as high as those of China. And, a big chunk of China’s emissions result from goods made there for our consumption.

The wealthiest 10 percent of U.S. households are associated with about 40 percent of U.S. emissions. Like the feudal lords of yesteryear, they believe their wealth and power give them the right to do as they wish. So they hamstring government’s capacity to regulate emissions.

Another reason the U.S. struggles to cut emissions is that, to ensure continual profits, big corporations have relentlessly promoted the culture norm of endless material consumption. Many American’s consequently believe their self-worth is determined by the amount of possessions and wealth they acquire. The ensuing relentless consumption of material goods and energy is disrupting the earth’s climate.

These interacting forces are major contributors to the decades-long rise of mental health problems that have now risen to epidemic levels in the U.S.

Last year 23 percent of adults, or nearly 60 million Americans, experienced a diagnosed mental illness. One in five youth had at least one major depressive episode, and 15 percent said it affected their functioning at school, home, and work.

These are undoubtedly conservative totals due to the millions of Americans who did not report severe mental health issues.

A large body of evidence shows a clear link between economic inequality and mental health issues, with a much higher percentage of people in unequal nations experiencing serious psychological, and emotional conditions than those in more equal countries.

One reason is that we humans are social creatures. We are programmed to want to be part of a group. The norm of conspicuous consumption has created status insecurity. Americans who do not achieve high status feel shame that can produce depression, substance abuse, and other psychological disorders.

The impacts of the climate crisis are adding to these problems, and creating many additional ones. They can be thought of as individual distresses, individual traumas, community traumas, and societal traumas.

Individual distress is an normal response to stressors and demands that are difficult to cope with or result from witnessing harmful situations or fantasizing about future impacts. Climate anxiety is a distress that is now widespread.

Individual trauma is a blow that is so overwhelming that people feel numbed, vulnerable, and unable to respond effectively. Up to 40 percent of the Los Angeles residents impacted by the recent wildfires are likely to be psychologically traumatized.

Community trauma is a blow that affects an entire community, not just individuals or small groups. Sixty nine percent of the people who were directly impacted by the Camp Fire that in 2018 torched Paradise, California said they experienced trauma similar to post-traumatic-stress-disorder.

Societal trauma creates similar disruptions as community trauma, but goes beyond a specific geographical area to affect entire cultures, nations, or all of humanity. The COVID-19 pandemic was a classic societal trauma.

Left unaddressed, the climate crisis will be the greatest societal trauma modern society has ever experienced.

The Trump administration will undoubtedly block efforts to minimize inequality, carbon emissions, and psychological distress. However, Scandinavian countries, Japan, and other nations have shown that, even in tough times, these issues can be address. It won’t be easy. But we can do it as well.

Change must begin from the bottom-up. A starting point is for communities to craft a clear vision of a more economically fair, climate safe, and psychologically healthy society that the vast majority of residents want.

Communities can then move toward that vision by forming networks of local leaders who design strategies to enhance economic equality, reduce carbon emissions, and build mental wellness and resilience.

This typically involves engaging residents in building social connections across boundaries to diminish the social isolation and loneliness that today creates profound mental health issues. It also involves supporting existing and helping to create new low-emission businesses that create living wage jobs. Communities also help residents learn emotional self-regulation resilience skills that help them remain healthy during adversities, and in other ways alter local norms and practices to establish more just, safe, and healthy conditions.

As seen in other nations, when residents experience the benefits of these actions, they will pressure elected officials to enact policies to bring about the vision they desire. Communities can be the medicine need for change.