People Got Unhappier When Life Got Easy

I think I just figured out why things might be so bad in the United States and maybe elsewhere as well. Since 1972, despite real income per capita roughly tripling, the percentage of Americans reporting themselves as "very happy" has remained essentially flat at around 33%. Richard Easterlin, "The Easterlin Paradox," IZA Discussion Papers, 2023 And it really runs counter to the way I've always seen the world.