"People feel that their ability to contribute to society has been terribly thwarted.".

An interview with research economist Anne Case in 2022 is presented. When asked on what "deaths of despair" mean, she refers to preventable death from health issues that are concentrated on Americans without college degrees. Case states that those without a bachelor's degree feel that their ability to contribute to society has been thwarted, and that this leaves them vulnerable to suicide. She notes that rising health insurance premiums prevent the rise of less-educated workers' wages.