佚名/Anonymous
Does money buy happiness?Not!Ah,but would a little more money mak e us a little happier?Many of us smile and nod.There is,we believe,s ome connection between fiscal fitness and feeling fantastic.Most of us would say that,yes,we would like to be rich.Three in four American co llegians now consider it "very important" or "essential" that they becom e "very well off financially".Money matters.
Well,are rich people happier?Researchers have found that in poor c ountries,being relatively well off does make for greater well-being.We need food,rest,shelter and social contact.
But a surprising fact of life is that in countries where nearly ever yone can afford life's necessities,increasing affluence matters surpris ingly little.The correlation between income and happiness is "surprisin gly weak",observed University of Michigan researcher Ronald Inglehart i n one 16-nation study of 170000 people.Once comfortable,more money p rovides diminishing returns.The second piece of pie,or the second $100000,never tastes as good as the first.
Even lottery winners and the Forbes'100 wealthiest Americans have e xpressed only slightly greater happiness than the average American.Maki ng it big brings temporary joy.But in the long run wealth is like healt h:its utter absence can breed misery,but having it doesn't guarantee h appiness.Happiness seems less a matter of getting what we want than of wanting what we have.
Has our happiness floated upward with the rising economic tide?Are we happier today than in 1940,when two out of five homes lacked a showe r or tub?When heat often meant feeding wood or coal into a furnace?Whe n 35 percent of homes had no toilet?
Actually,we are not.Since 1957,the number of Americans who say th ey are "very happy" has declined from 35 to 32 percent,Meanwhile,the d ivorce rate has doubled,the teen suicide rate has nearly tripled,the v iolent crime rate has nearly quadrupled (even after the recent decline),and more people than ever(especially teens and young adults) are depress ed.