One would think that per capita income would have a strong positive link to crime, other variables held constant. But when population was also included in in the data analysis, income lost its statistical significance, while population retained significance.
When the current darkness lifts and partisan animosity is softened by the spirit of collective problem-solving, we could do worse than return to the ancient texts for understanding and advice. One such text is What is Driving U.S. Health Care Spending: America's Unsustainable Health Care Cost Growth by the Bipartisan Policy Center
...by the time you hit the median income in the US, chances are (like 91%) you are very happy or fairly happy.
Keep in mind the above chart is about tax revenue, not tax rates. The average OECD tax revenue is 34.2% of a country's GDP. The US revenue take is 25.9%. Denmark's is the highest, at 49.6% of GDP. Take home: the USA doesn't tax its citizens all that much, compared to its OECD brethren.
This mission is not all that different from that of a parent: provide a secure base while encouraging the child to leave its safety to explore the world. And thereby suffer and thrive.
Individuals who favor "avoidance goals" tend to feel less in control, less satisfied with their progress, and less competent than individuals with lots of "approach goals". In other words, their happiness feeder streams have become mere trickles.
Personal initiative is a proactive and goal-oriented mindset, characterized by long-term focus and persistence in the face of obstacles and setbacks. Such a mindset is action-oriented, planful, and anticipatory: quickly turning goals into actions - with back-up plans ready just in case.
...the wisdom of deficit spending depends on the economic cycle. If stuck in a recession, deficit spending can be helpful to give the economy a boost. But...
Essence means "the basic, real, and invariable nature" of something. And it is in that sense that I see a tendency for some of us to interpret a person's moment of insensitivity, provocativeness or even hate as proof of their essence, as if whatever appeared to be benign or good-natured before was just a sham that obscured what the person "really" is.
How do we find a balance between satisfaction with what is and wanting more? Easy for an old person to say: it is enough. Not so when you’re young and chomping at the bit.
2.6%: the median profit margin at an independently owned fast-food restaurant, about a percentage point more at a corporately-owned location
Americans are still a fairly socially mobile people, but part of the population is stuck. What can the US government do to help these folk? Some ideas...
If I'm a roofer living in a working class neighborhood, I'm not measuring my status against super-rich CEOs or Hollywood superstars, I'm looking at how my relatives, neighbors, friends, associates, and fellow roofers are doing.
Ideally, governments seek to create conditions conducive to the pursuit of happiness. These would be conditions that foster the individual's sense of control and purpose, especially in the quest for social connection and status.
...happiness as felicity contains multitudes: a sweet and humble sense of well-being that comes from productive labor in harmony with one's nature and the world, mixed with gratitude for one's good fortune and satisfaction at being able to share the fruits of one's labor.
When Thomas Jefferson penned the Mighty Declaration, happiness was more than "being in the zone" or an internal state that accompanies smiling and laughing. Happiness was frickin' virtuous! Happiness was akin to felicity, a sense of wellbeing that comes from fruitful labor in harmony with the world.
The idea of relative poverty recognizes that basic needs extend beyond the merely material and include markers of status and belonging within a particular society. But "society" is an abstract concept. Society doesn't act on the individual directly but through intermediaries: family, intimates, friends, acquaintances, neighbors, teachers, co-workers, peers, public figures, the media - to name a few.
Rational Choice Theory (RCT) is not a theory about human nature. It's an idealized model that helps economists and political scientists make hypotheses and predictions..."Rational" doesn't mean uninfluenced by "desires, novelty, status" or what have you. It means choosing actions that somehow help achieve goals
Consuming experiences instead of things sounds so virtuous and life-enriching. Forget bling, raft down the Amazon! Have a culinary adventure in Thailand! Problem is, consumable experiences are often the kind that are bad for the planet, e.g. travel and dining out. What to do?
...American adults read, on average, 10-15 minutes a day - not counting perusing posts on social media, which probably falls under the category "using the computer for leisure". Of course, "on average"covers a lot of variation, from the non-readers to occasional binge readers to voracious readers.