[mvkel]

There are more than a few studies behind it. Is that "scientific"? Remember that viral story about the guy who made the min salary in his company $70K? What did he base that number on, do you think?

Separately, if someone said that your take is "complete anti-scientific hogwash only poor people would repeat," would you think their opinion valid?

[deathanatos]

… maybe cite them? While I could see a study that says being vastly wealthy doesn't lead to happiness, the kinda wealth gap being discussed here is "cannot easily afford a home" ($70k/y; max $1.7k/mo affordable) and "can trivially afford a home" ($500k/y–$700k/y; max $17.5k/mo affordable). (For reference, homes in my area are currently ~$4.8k/mo.)

[mvkel]

If happiness = owning a home, certainly.

Here is the study by the late great Kahneman:

Kahneman, D. & Deaton, A. (2010). High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1011492107

And a 2021 follow-up that addresses criticisms of the original (TLDR: if you were already happy, you get more happy > 75K. If you were unhappy, you don't get more happy > 75K.)

Killingsworth, Kahneman, M.A. (2021). Experienced well-being rises with income, even above $75,000 per year. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2016976118

And the HN thread when the study first dropped: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1381927

[mp05]

The Daniel Kahneman? I didn't realize he was so prolific.