[FredPret]

More money is strictly better; if you think rich countries are "unpleasant or unpractical" to live in, try living in a poor one.

You're right that GDP is far from the only thing that matters. But sacrificing growth for intangible benefits is a tradeoff that should be made very carefully indeed.

[msgodel]

Money is arbitrary. It's like voltage: power is the important part.

Same with economics: wealth is the important part. Wealth can be invariant while money fluctuates.

[FredPret]

Money is just a token. The valuable thing is the actual output of products and services.

Companies are great at this, and taking resources away from them means they have to crank out less of it. The best and simplest thing is to tax the salaries and dividends paid by the companies, and stop taxing consumption (regressive tax that's hardest on the poor) or profits (reduces investment and output).