[ChuckMcM]

I would not be surprised if you were exactly right with this: I would say that having no debt, or at least having manageable debt, along with knowing you are saving enough for retirement, and making enough that you don't have to second-guess if you can afford every purchase you make, is the real cutoff.

Many people I have talked with about happiness are really talking about non-anxiety. Basically defining being 'happy' as having zero anxiety and being 'un-happy' as worrying about (anxious) one or more things.

In that model not having debt relieves future obligation anxiety, owning a house addresses 'where will I live' anxiety, savings address 'what if something comes up' anxiety etc.

If that model held true for the survey participants then once you had enough income to offset your anxieties you would not get any more 'happy'.

[tachyoff]

What a sad indictment of modern American life that our baseline for happiness is "not destitute". Really, I think that's telling, and as a millennial with lots of student loan debt and friends in a similar boat, it's not surprising one bit.

[onion2k]

Epicurus, the Greek philosopher who lived ~3000 years ago, figured out that key to happiness was having somewhere to live, friends around you, someone to have sex with, and lots of food. He summed it up in a line: "Not what we have but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance." The notion that baseline happiness is equivalent to 'not destitute' really isn't modern, or American.

[matte_black]

Why should it be any higher?

Raise the baseline too high and you may never reach it, and never be happy, despite having a good life. Is that what you want?

[tachyoff]

> Why should it be any higher?

Because it can be. Because we’re the richest country in the world and yet for some reason we force people into bankruptcy because they didn’t have health insurance on the day they had a medical emergency.

I want:

1. People not to have to worry about seeing a doctor because they can’t afford it.

2. People not to have to worry about having shelter.

3. People not to have to worry about where their next meal will come from.

4. People to be able to provide a solid, basic, decent life for themselves and their families.

5. People to be able receive an education without it being onerously expensive.

Among other things.

I don’t think these are intractable problems for a civilization that sent people to the moon, perform open heart surgery, and deliver energy consistently and safely to millions of people.

[erentz]

You actually seem to be pretty much in agreement with the person you originally replied to. I only read you as calling out a few more specific examples of what causes anxiety but it’s completely possible they are encapsulated in quote “etc.”.

[tachyoff]

My point is that if those needs are met, then happiness becomes a question of what personally makes you happy and not just what you need to not be homeless.

[thwarted]

Consider that maybe happiness isn't about "personal happiness". If all that one needs to be happy is to not have stress, why question that and desire more? By questioning it, you're undermining the happiness. The goal shouldn't be to raise the happiness bar, it should be to lower it so that more people can experience happiness. Why should only those with significant means beyond the bare necessities have access to happiness?

If you're always questioning if you're happy enough, you'll never truly reach happiness.

So one obtains shelter, and healthcare, and an education, and all those things you listed. And they're still not happy? If cake is the baseline, is more icing going to make that much better?

[ChuckMcM]

And that was exactly my point as well. Once you are no longer anxious about those things, then, to use your own words, happiness becomes a question of what personally makes you happy.

I have observed that people who reach that state aren't looking for "more money" so much as they are looking for something that is more fulfilling for them personally. And the article observes that as well.

[mherrmann]

> Because we’re the richest country in the world

Are you? When I just Googled "richest country in the world", not a single result placed the US in #1.

[uiri]

Yeah, I don' think that statement holds up to scrutiny at all.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the median salary in the US was higher than the median salary in Luxembourg/Ireland/Singapore/Brunei/oil-rich-middle-east. Along with a lower tax burden resulting in higher net pay.

[odammit]

I assumed they meant largest economy?

[taneq]

I don't think it's just that that's our baseline, I think it's a ceiling. I think they're saying "if you're not destitute, more stuff won't make you happier". Overall, in the long term.

[thrav]

It’s why the Danish are always ranked the happiest. They know the government won’t let them become destitute.

[hinkley]

I feel like there’s some Maslow’s heirarchy things going on here. Once you get over the non destitute thing you can spend your energy on being fulfilled.

[ksec]

>Many people I have talked with about happiness are really talking about non-anxiety.

This sums up pretty much.

It is not the Money ($) i need. But what I think is rather basic things to live.

A place called Home. It doesn't have to be free, it could be even be rented that I dont own it. But it should be affordable, without being anxious about Landlord kicking you out, or hike the rent to a ridiculous level so you cant continue to live. It shouldn't take your entire working life, 25 - 30 years of continuously working and giving 40% of your salary, what if you are sick in between this 30 years? What if you were fired? This whole living burden is what causes people anxious, and hence do not risk into taking another higher paid job and move up the ladder. The stagnation of wages.

I dont need a house, just a small flat, 150 Square Feet will do, with an open kitchen and a small toilet and shower. The whole flat is probably the size of many Americans's houses bath room. Hopefully along with Water pipes that doesn't include heavy metal like lead poisoning, hot water system that could shower longer then 3 min in Winter. Is that too much to ask for? I am not calling for free housing, but one that is affordable.

Food is Cheap, I used to live in UK with less then 1.5 pound budget per day. Good Quality clothes are actually not expensive in terms of production cost, most are rent, labour and marketing. And Medical is affordable if you have insurance.

So Food, Medical and Clothes are actually easily affordable in most developed countries. ( Name be one place that it isn't ) As long as you have a job. Any job in fact, even labour intensive job or lower end jobs could easily afford all of these.

So out of all the basic needs in Maslow thoery, shelter is the most expensive, most unaffordable, and also most anti competitive. But all government are very happy with that, as it is basically modern slavery.