Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The cost of happiness

In a desperate search to find something positive in Flint's economic woes, it's tempting to turn to the old adage that money can't buy you happiness.

Leave it to The New York Times to
shoot down that theory: "A new study shows that people in wealthier countries are more likely to be satisfied with their lives. Earlier research had suggested that satisfaction did not necessarily increase once basic needs were met."

But wait, maybe there's still hope. As the chart below shows, spending more money on healthcare doesn't ensure a longer life. Oh wait, I guess that's more bad news for Flint and the rest of America. Never mind.

http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/health/spend/cost_longlife75.gif

Source: dvorak.org/blog
Health Care Spending: Large Differences, Unequal Results #

2 comments:

Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.