75k for Happiness and here all along I thought it was bashing whoever is President

[WTF]

They say money can't buy happiness. They're wrong.
At least up to a point.
People's emotional well-being — happiness — increases along with their income up to about $75,000, researchers report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. . .


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/7188688.html

On a related note we rank 9th on the scale of countries happiness. We shoot up to number one if Sara Palin and her crew are taken out of the mix!

Comparing their life-satisfaction results with those of other countries, the researchers said the United States ranked ninth after the Scandinavian countries, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland and New Zealand

[nevergaveitathought]

are you listening to the radio?

[Sisyphus]

Pretty sure it's a repeatable observation. The number moves with inflation but the survey always shows a point on the income curve beyond which there is a diminishing return on "happiness."

Mo' money, mo' problems!

[atlcomedy]

First off all, WTF, aka "Link King" (although .. is giving him a run for his money), thank you for summarizing your point so I didn't have to actually go to the link...

...but I got to say it makes sense...I don't know what the right number is and it has to vary greatly by geography but being able to reasonably provide for your family has to take a whole lot of base stress out of your life....

[WTF]

Originally Posted by atlcomedy

but being able to reasonably provide for your family has to take a whole lot of base stress out of your life....

Well that and having plenty of fuc you $ sure don't hurt!

[oden]

I guess that is why most men that make more than 75k hobbie.

[Laurentius]

I suspect that 75k is enough to meet the base of the pyramid of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

That shouldn't be interpreted as money buying happiness. That same level of happiness could be provided by redefining needs in many cases so they can be more easily met. That is, the desire for an expensive car can be redefined as the desire for a reliable car once it is understood that trying to impress people you'll never know is wasteful.

Happiness = what you've got/what you want. So long as the basics are met, you can increase happiness by getting more ... or by wanting less.

I would theorize that in general, for those with incomes greater than 75k; the decline in happiness is not caused by greater income; but rather by their desires increasing faster than their income such that their desires always seem to be moving further away. This makes sense as those who are most highly motivated by material desires would be more likely to have incomes greater than 75k.

[atlcomedy]

Originally Posted by Laurentius

I suspect that 75k is enough to meet the base of the pyramid of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

That shouldn't be interpreted as money buying happiness. That same level of happiness could be provided by redefining needs in many cases so they can be more easily met. That is, the desire for an expensive car can be redefined as the desire for a reliable car once it is understood that trying to impress people you'll never know is wasteful.

Happiness = what you've got/what you want. So long as the basics are met, you can increase happiness by getting more ... or by wanting less.

I would theorize that in general, for those with incomes greater than 75k; the decline in happiness is not caused by greater income; but rather by their desires increasing faster than their income such that their desires always seem to be moving further away. This makes sense as those who are most highly motivated by material desires would be more likely to have incomes greater than 75k.

I'm not suggesting money can buy happiness...and we all know folk that if they make 50 they spend 50; if they make 75 they spend 90 & if they make 500 they spend 600....etc...etc....

I do contend taking one base need, feeding your family, off the table sets you up for happiness. That is not to say their aren't a bunch of unhappy rich people out there...hell I'll suggest a bunch on this bored.

If you take say a hundred people making $20K and a hundred making $200K put them in a room and ask about happiness. More of the 200k group is will report :happiness"

[Egrbvr]

Been poor, been rich. Rich is better, but so much of being happy is unrelated to money that money isn't part of the equation past some threshold. If you cannot accept that someone else will always be richer, prettier, yada yada, than you, then no amount of $ will help and you will die a miserable curmudgeon.