Not having a job generally means you won't have health insurance, nor an income, and thus won't have access to non-emergency health care. Recent estimates are that there are about 45,000 excess deaths annually due to lack of health insurance (source: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/09/new-study-find...).
Furthermore, homelessness and malnutrition also increase the death rate. There are lots of homeless and hungry people in the US.
So while you might not immediately die due to being unemployed, as there are a variety of safety nets, being without a job will, statistically decrease your expected lifespan. Food assistance does not prevent people from going hungry. Homeless shelters are packed to the brim, and in some cases quite unsafe. You can't get non-emergency care if you are unemployed and broke, at least until Obamacare kicks in (or if you are covered by Romneycare).
Furthermore, homelessness and malnutrition also increase the death rate. There are lots of homeless and hungry people in the US.
So while you might not immediately die due to being unemployed, as there are a variety of safety nets, being without a job will, statistically decrease your expected lifespan. Food assistance does not prevent people from going hungry. Homeless shelters are packed to the brim, and in some cases quite unsafe. You can't get non-emergency care if you are unemployed and broke, at least until Obamacare kicks in (or if you are covered by Romneycare).