A roadmap to happiness

An average American might believe that, since the United States is the richest country in the world, that would translate into it being the happiest country in the world. Not so. Not even close.

Based on the following criteria, the U.S. ranks an embarrassing 25th: gross domestic product per capita; social support; healthy life expectancy; freedom to make one’s own life choices; generosity of the general population; and perceptions of internal and external corruption levels. It’s interesting to me that the top five countries based on happy citizens are (in order): Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Israel.

 Looking at Finland, their economy is based on free trade and private enterprise. Finland has a robust social safety net that provides universal public services such as free education (all levels, including university), public healthcare and extensive parental leave. These public services are funded by relatively high taxes across all income levels, which allows for a high degree of income redistribution and low income disparity.

While not socialist, Finland’s government does have a significant role. The public sector employs a large portion of the workforce (around one-fourth), and the government owns a notable portion of the nation’s wealth and some key enterprises. Same with Denmark, Sweden and Iceland. So no student loan debt, no bankruptcies due to medical bills and low income inequality. Opposite of our dumbass country.

The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that does not have universal health coverage for all citizens. Is it any mystery that we’re stressed out and miserable? Open your eyes people. We can and should do better. Tax the rich!

– Bill Vana, Durango