[Dixielandjazz] Money and happiness in Australia and the U.S.

[Dick Baker]

Bill Gunter (using a subject line with one star too many, I believe), made 
note of an Australian study that concluded,
         "Money doesn't buy happiness, and now there's a study to prove it. 
Australian researchers found that people in well-off Sydney are among the 
most miserable in the country, while those in some of the poorest areas are 
much more satisfied with their lives.
         "'Only at very, very high levels does money actually have any 
impact to act as a buffer,' said Deakin University researcher Liz Eckerman. 
'Money doesn't actually buy happiness and that's what was shown very 
clearly for the nearly 23,000 people we've interviewed so far,' she told 
ABC radio."

Now here's quite a coincidence:  This morning's (Feb 14) Washington Post 
carred a storied titled, "A Study Finds Americans Unrelentingly 
Cheerful."  It cites the latest of a series of reports over the decades by 
the Pew Research Center, which concludes that Americans are a pretty 
cheerful lot and have been so for a long time.  Most notably, it concludes 
that money does indeed buy happiness:
         "So we find, aphorisms aside, that Americans are convinced that 
more money makes for more happiness. 'Reported happiness rises in a nearly 
straight line through eight levels of annual family income,' Pew reports."

I guess the logical conclusion for poor, unhappy Americans is to move to 
Australia -- but how would they afford it?  And all you wealthy but unhappy 
Aussies should pack up and move to Uncle Sam land.  Your "g'days" and money 
will be welcome here!

Bill Haesler, what are your plans?

(The full WP report is at 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/13/AR2006021302145.html, 
but you may have to register with the Post [it's free] to view it.)


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   Dick Baker - Falls Church, Virginia, USA
             box2 at twotonbaker.com