>there are some really obvious things we could do which would cure a lot of people
I agree with a lot of your bigger complaints re: the labor market, but I don't think this is necessarily true.
Let's say that for a lot of people, their symptoms of depression are a direct response to external circumstances, and that these external circumstances are overwhelmingly job-related. Even if you assume that this is true (which AFAIK is a assumption, research hasn't definitively demonstrated this), changing their situation for them to have a meaningful career doesn't necessarily magically fix the depression developed as a result of their situation--it might, but it doesn't necessarily follow that it's an automatic solution. Some people diagnosed with depression see reduced or even eliminated symptoms with lifestyle changes, and some people don't respond to them at all. Even if the depressive symptoms were caused by external circumstances, they could be like a broken bone: caused by external trauma, but needing additional intervention to treat even after the violence has ended. Or a closer analogy, like PTSD: removing someone from the traumatic situation that gave them the disorder in the first place is necessary to treat their symptoms, but it's definitely not sufficient on its own. We don't understand enough about depression/mental illnesses in general to be able to offer any clear or universal cures, or suggest any clear and universal causes.
I agree with a lot of your bigger complaints re: the labor market, but I don't think this is necessarily true.
Let's say that for a lot of people, their symptoms of depression are a direct response to external circumstances, and that these external circumstances are overwhelmingly job-related. Even if you assume that this is true (which AFAIK is a assumption, research hasn't definitively demonstrated this), changing their situation for them to have a meaningful career doesn't necessarily magically fix the depression developed as a result of their situation--it might, but it doesn't necessarily follow that it's an automatic solution. Some people diagnosed with depression see reduced or even eliminated symptoms with lifestyle changes, and some people don't respond to them at all. Even if the depressive symptoms were caused by external circumstances, they could be like a broken bone: caused by external trauma, but needing additional intervention to treat even after the violence has ended. Or a closer analogy, like PTSD: removing someone from the traumatic situation that gave them the disorder in the first place is necessary to treat their symptoms, but it's definitely not sufficient on its own. We don't understand enough about depression/mental illnesses in general to be able to offer any clear or universal cures, or suggest any clear and universal causes.