PBS has committed four hours of broadcast time in the next month to a project called “Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?” The series looks at official statistics showing that the richest 20% of Americans have a life expectancy  4 years longer than the poorest Americans. Both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton have spoken out on these disparities and introduced legislation requiring that they be reduced. Actually, the biggest reasons for wealthier people living longer lives reflect healthier habits: less smoking, better diet, more regular exercise, less divorce, fewer sexually transmitted diseases, and so forth. Educated and privileged people also get more and better information about protecting their own health, as well as more access to preventive care. The “inequalities” in life expectancy don’t indicate some profound injustice – in fact, it would be unjust and illogical if people who had created more wealth were unable to use those resources to secure better health outcomes. Alarmists who overreact to the new figures also ignore the old sociological principle that “correlation does not equal causation.” In other words, more money may contribute to good health, but it’s also undoubtedly true that good health helps produce more money: people with serious illnesses or chronic conditions will always find it more difficult to compete in a free market economy. In the final analysis, it’s actually the same set of habits and attitudes – deferred gratification, focusing on long-term goals, self-discipline, avoiding destructive addictions – that contribute to both long life and financial success. Meanwhile, rather than wringing our hands at the fact the people who’ve succeeded in life enjoy better health than those who’ve faced frustration and tragedy, we ought to congratulate ourselves on the improvement in life expectancy for every American at every income level. In the last twenty years, it’s true that the life spans of the richest group went up most sharply (3.4 years) but even among the poorest Americans there was a notable rise – from 73 years to 74.7 years. Despite the concerns of PBS and the Democratic presidential candidates, there’s nothing unnatural about a connection between wealth and health.