WE'RE WEALTHY, HEALTHY, SAFE AND CONSERVATIVE, WHAT'S NOT TO BVE HAPPY ABOUT?:

On the happiness meter, Americans are doing well (Kevin Huffman, December 26, 2009, Washington Post)

[W]e are, as a country, remarkably happy.

Last week's AP-Gfk poll showed that 78 percent of Americans, when asked to "think about how things are going in your life in general," said they are very happy or somewhat happy. [...]

In the current issue of Science magazine, Andrew Oswald and Stephen Wu ranked states by the happiness of their residents, finding that people are happiest in Louisiana and least happy in New York. (D.C. slotted in at an underwhelming No. 37; Virginia at 27 and Maryland at 40.) [...]

Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute and author of two books on happiness, doesn't buy weather or other external factors, including money, as real drivers of happiness. In his interpretation, the state rankings reflect political viewpoints -- each of the bottom 10 states on the happy meter voted for Obama in 2008. Brooks also points to research showing that 44 percent of conservatives are "very happy," but only 25 percent of liberals describe themselves that way. He says half of the difference, statistically, is lifestyle -- mostly rates of marriage and religious worship -- and half is attitude.

Not coincidentally, the happiness number almost precisely matches the percent who self-identify as Christians.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 27, 2009 8:06 AM