Comments on: United States of Happiness

By: staffnurse

staffnurse — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:35:51 +0000

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By: Pixelfish

Pixelfish — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:12:49 +0000

So very very very late on this, but I have to say as a WOMAN who grew up in Utah (20 years of my 32 spent in that state) that Will's characterisation of the ideology of happiness being emphasised is far from wrong. I remember countless lessons in church about how one could only be truly happy if one was following Heavenly Father and the correlation was that sin causes unhappiness. When you've got that bred into the bone, you are going to have a lot of people who self-select for stating that they are happy. Because admitting otherwise could be admitting to a state of sin. And young women in particular are REALLY REALLY hit over the head with this–women who are given the cookie of approval are those who are happy and smiley and seemingly righteous. If you are sad, SOMETHING must be causing your sadness, and possibly something you are falling short on in life, because righteous people are happy!

(I can tell you I'm much happier outside of Utah than I was inside of it. But you know, maybe it was all that sinning I was doing inside of Utah. Certainly it couldn't have anything to do with condescending Priesthood holders telling me that I had natural potential to raise children and should not have a career and that I should get married as soon as possible and have kids without waiting to see if I would be financially stable and that I would know real happiness by having kids.)

By: david_zenciti_com

david_zenciti_com — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:17:04 +0000

You say money and happiness are correlated, but according to your graph the correlation is VERY WEAK. The correlation between money and happiness is documented only for low to moderate incomes. Once people have "enough" money, there is no correlation. It's pretty simple, and pretty widely documented: http://www.google.com/search?q=money+happy+corr...

By: astorasls

astorasls — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:08:29 +0000

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By: Roth Ira

Roth Ira — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 07:42:12 +0000

yes, will i agree.

By: bookscout

bookscout — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:58:21 +0000

(yawn) Correlations do not equal causation. Any thoughts on happiness causation without dipping into the logical fallacy of the wealth happiness correlation?

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:33:38 +0000

Um … y'all are aware that 40% of the population of Utah isn't Mormon, right? And that Salt Lake's Democratic mayor makes NYC's last two mayors look like the gestapo? (And that the 40% is growing daily?)

A bunch of non-Mormon's must be awfully happy with their quiet neighbors.

Also, scientists have shown: complaining makes you sad: http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_proj…

And pretending to be happy will make you happy: http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/happinessproje…

Also, if any of you actually KNEW any Mormons, you would discover there is an exceptionally interesting demographic switch that is beginning to occur among older college educated Mormon women who's children have left home (which they do at a young age). Many are starting careers for the first time and our often OVERLY supported by their husbands. I guess if you don't smoke or drink, don't get divorced (a GIGANTIC drain on resources and happiness) and living healthily into your 80s you can do all sorts of things.

PS: Social researchers please check this out because I have noticed this anecdotely but don't have stats. And I'm a writer so I'm not gonna do it.

By: articlesatrandom.com » Blog Archive » Happiness Rankings By State

articlesatrandom.com » Blog Archive » Happiness Rankings By State — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:53:01 +0000

[...] Economix via Will Wilkinson and Breitbart Read [...]

By: lyca

lyca — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:37:32 +0000

You know, maybe we need to rethink the idea that reported happiness = well-being. You could argue that the people who have it the best also have the highest expectations for satisfaction in their lives, and so report themselves as unhappy. I know I'd rather be a rich, well-educated complainer than a poor stoic. (And I'd rather be a harried scientist than a beaming stay-at-home mom.) The Woody Allen thing is right. As a matter of fact, I think I complain more the better my life is going; when you get a great job offer you feel confident enough to be entitled to complain about the little things.

That's an argument for looking at revealed preferences over reported happiness.

By: johnny

johnny — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:46:16 +0000

Up here in the northeast, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say they are living happy lives; in fact, I've never said it myself. I don't think I've ever thought of "living in happiness" because it is simply too much of an unquantifiable measurement that can change minute-by-minute. Maybe being an agnostic Catholic points to that kind of thinking, rather than subserviant Mormonism.

That said, I've always been very content at my Connecticut life, as most people around me are, I suspect. I think it's just common for us evil liberal northeasterners here to complain about many aspects of life to those who visit, but then when asked the inevitable "Why don't you move?" we say that we still kind of like it here.

Call it the Woody Allen effect: content to live out life's miseries, secretly enjoying all thrown our way.