tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253633813431459343.post5893229966154094392..comments2023-05-24T11:49:42.337-07:00Comments on Kevin Barrett's radio show schedule: Is the USA a "fascist beast"? Kevin Barretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522769898898884227noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253633813431459343.post-3311430418653035122013-02-27T18:34:53.140-08:002013-02-27T18:34:53.140-08:00Happiness research seems dodgy.
Firstly, the data...Happiness research seems dodgy.<br /><br />Firstly, the data is inconsistent. Here's a study claiming that the golden income for happiness is 75k: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2019628,00.html<br /><br />Another claiming that it's really 50k: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/50-000-happiness-tipping-point-poll-says-182514377.html<br /><br />And another purporting that it's actually 100-125k: http://www.aninews.in/newsdetail8/story81854/money-buys-happiness-only-for-those-who-earn-below-150k.html<br /><br />Secondly, how do you "measure" happiness? To measure anything you must have some kind of "ruling stick" - that's basically what asking people to rate their happiness is. But it's completely and utterly contingent on the individuals' perception of how much happiness is possible.<br /><br />So if I'm on a low income, of course I'm going to rate my happiness low! Everyone else has more money than me, and the only way I can possibly stick a number on my "happiness" is by looking at what they have.<br /><br />In my opinion, looking at human nature and trying to construct a society that can satisfy it is probably the closest we're going to get to maximizing happiness. In the long term that would require the re-emergence of tradition (i.e. family, community, cultural unity, ect.), not radical redistribution of wealth.Knoreply@blogger.com