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Robert Gebelhoff: We are living in a new gilded age. 2018 proves it.

No, I’m not talking about the onslaught of news detailing Russia’s interference in our democracy (though that should make anyone sick). I’m talking about something deeper — the wellness of America. Because, if you take a step back a look at the totality of trends facing our country, it’s clear something isn’t right.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, reported in November that life expectancy for the average American ticked downward for the third year in a row. The news attracted a storm of attention, given the record number of suicides and surging drug overdoses driving the trend — despite progress in reducing deaths for top sources of death in the United States, such as heart disease or cancer.