[NiftyFifty]

It's a pretty simple principle between the happy curve and where it intersects with the financial stability curve. However, the opposite can be very true as well. Namely, poverty as it plays out on the social ills that we in the United States have - most notable, are minorities and the lack / motivation of the government to cure this problem. I believe there is some paradigm where happy can be achieved if the work/happy ratio is subsidized through social programs lowering the happy curve (or at least tolerance) because of the work requirements to achieve the financial base to maintain that curve. It's an interesting problem, but overwhelming it causes desperation and by a minor extension drug / alcohol abuse / crime syndication, and violence (domestic abuse and gun deaths in particular). The upward mobility is one thing, but an opposite paradigm is also a very interesting dynamic with respect to if money can or cannot by happiness. However, your example of "owning your own company" is also a self-confidence motivator that is a game changer. :) That's why we need a minority middle class to fix poverty, IMHO.