Let's compare... So Laurie and Moose are trying use Happiness as an argument for adopting Liberal government. I am not convinced the "causality" is there.
I think so... :-) God Bless America !!!
"USA is 19th in the world happiness report. Nearly all the countries of Europe score higher than we do." Laurie and MooseHere are my random thoughts:
- It seems to me that the happiest people live in TINY Countries up North (kind of like if MN was a country)
- If Dem Socialism works, why is France, Spain, Italy lower on the list.
- The USA is the #1 happiest of the BIG Complicated Countries. I mean even the UK and Germany are relatively small and simple.
- I think they should compile the number for the EU.... Then we would have an apples to apples comparison.
I think so... :-) God Bless America !!!
Does Inequality Make Us Unhappy?
ReplyDeleteWell I agree with this whole heartedly... I even named my blog after it... :-)
ReplyDelete"It's not that money doesn't make us feel good — it's that sharing the wealth can make us feel even better."
The problem as Jerry will note is that "paying more taxes" does not generate the same response.
Now this is just poppy cock... Otherwise we would not thrive on competition and winning.
"In fact, our desire for equal outcomes is often more powerful (at least in the brain) than our desire for a little extra cash.
The challenge here is that most people want hard working responsible people rewarded...
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately when other strangers are failing many humans have a tendency to want to attribute it to the bad choices and actions of those people.
Just as they tend to think "THEY" themselves are responsible for all their success. :-(
Then we have the Liberals who think that everyone should be equal no matter their life choices, efforts, etc... It is complicated.
"everyone should be equal no matter their life choices, efforts, etc.."
ReplyDeletethat is not my view and probably does not represent the view of most liberals.
I just think people ho work full time should be able to support themselves and their family with the basics.
We know that single parents and their kids are the number one group who suffer poverty.
ReplyDeleteI mean how would one work enough to pay all the bills and take adequate care of children, especially if they have a limited education.
So should they live an equal life style to a couple who shares parenting, money making, etc duties? (ie nice little house, health insurance, food, maybe a driving vacation once in awhile)
Or the families / single parents who keep having babies that they really can not afford?
Needless to say that they will likely be poor... Who's fault is that?
Or the young woman who waits to have kids and struggles through community college and gets a great career. Should she pay more taxes to pay for those who did not struggle?
How does equity work in these cases?
I believe that Liberals think all of these people are entitled to a nice home, a stable food source, healthcare, clothing, and some modern conveniences no matter what choices they made... Yes or No?
Where do rewards and consequences fit into the idea of "equity"?
ReplyDeleteit seems to me that in normal times most families are able to meet their basic needs in the United States. I think many families do this with government assistance for food, housing, health care, and/or childcare. it would probably be better if low-wage earners could be paid more and rely less on government assistance.
ReplyDeleteI think these low-wage workers would be happier if they were paid more.
the Earned Income Tax Credit seems like one good way to pay people more.
We could tax Walmart more in order to pay for this program.
Laurie,
ReplyDeleteMore is a relative term... A young person with room mates can live on $14/hr... (ie room mates, etc)
A young single person with 2 kids can not.
So are you going to face the gorilla in the room or keep ignoring it?
Or do you think foolish irresponsible people should be paid more?
If someone likes to drink, smoke or gamble, should we raise their wages also?
"Hey that idiot Ahmed decided to have his 5th kid, we need to give him a raise..."
Walmart Wages
ReplyDelete"The report also said the average wage for full-time, hourly employees in its stores is now $14.26 an hour as of March 2019, up from the $14.08 average the retailer reported in 2018."
"Average hourly compensation with all benefits included is $19.31. The majority of Walmart's store workers are full-time, according to the retailer."
So $14/hr equals $28,000, or with 2 working adults $56,000 per year...
A young single person with 2 kids earning $14 is probably going to receive some gov assistance with food, housing, healthcare, or child care. The help will probably make her a little happier.
ReplyDeleteYes it will. Now is it good for our society to take from the folks who make good life choices to support those who make questionable life choices?
ReplyDelete"liberals believe everyone should be equal no matter their life choices, efforts, etc.." G2A
"that is not my view and probably does not represent the view of most liberals." Laurie
The poor are poor for many reasons, some luck/society and some really bad choices / attitude.
"If Dem Socialism works, why is France, Spain, Italy lower on the list."
ReplyDeleteIf the sky is blue, why can't pigs fly?
--Hiram
Exactly... Now you are talking...
ReplyDeleteCorrelation does not equal causation...
Correlation as a proof of causation isn't perfect but it is what we have got. It's what we use.
ReplyDelete--Hiram
It is what you use if you want to likely state something that is totally incorrect. :-)
ReplyDelete