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posted by janrinok on Monday March 19 2018, @09:40AM   Printer-friendly
from the not-clapping-for-us dept.

Common Dreams reports

Nordic countries with strong social welfare structures fared best, as they have in previous years, on the United Nation's annual accounting of global happiness--while the United States finished in 18th place, down four spots from 2017.

Finland was ranked number one on the World Happiness Report, compiled by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The country was joined by other Scandinavian nations--Norway, Denmark, and Iceland--in the top four, followed by Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, and Australia.

[...] the United States finished in 18th place, down four spots from 2017.

[...] The drop followed President Donald Trump's first year in office, during which the majority of Americans reported disapproval of the country's top elected official, and hundreds of thousands protested his regressive policies on immigration, women's reproductive rights, and gun control--as well as widespread concerns that the president is blatantly profiting off his position in public office.

The past year also saw reports of America's widening wealth gap, with the average upper middle-class household holding 75 times more wealth than low-income families.

Trump's tax law, pushed through Congress despite the disapproval of 53 percent of Americans, only heightened the perception of many people that the government is intent on transferring wealth to the richest Americans while the majority live paycheck to paycheck.

The World Happiness Report ranks countries according to per capita GDP, social support, life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and corruption levels.

Life expectancy in the U.S. dropped for the second year in a row in 2017, with researchers suggesting that the opioid addiction epidemic and inequality are related to the decline.

Reigning political ideologies in the highest-ranking nations contrast sharply with that of the U.S., noted the researchers.

The countries in the top 10 tend to "believe that what makes people happy is solid social support systems, good public services, and even paying a significant amount in taxes for that", said [Jeffrey D. Sachs, editor of the World Happiness Report].


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @01:28PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @01:28PM (#654873)

    Oh how cute you are. You want some real eye opener, search for highest use of Anti-depressants per capita. Now tell me are they really that happy or is it something else.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by khallow on Monday March 19 2018, @02:54PM (3 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 19 2018, @02:54PM (#654926) Journal
    Why tell people to look, when you can just throw out the link [businessinsider.com]? A few seconds of your time is less valuable than the potential hours of your readers. Spoiler: the US tops that list - must make it the happiest place on Earth, amirite?
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @03:31PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @03:31PM (#654948)

      hi

      the link doesnt say how marketing and how doctors are reimbursed for prescribing unnecesasry medications that act as a placebo for people that dont need them, or better, cause issues that can necessitate other prescriptions and treatments.

      if you dont have a problem, we can make you feel bad until we find one

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @05:55AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @05:55AM (#655277)

      If you swallow the hype, that's Disneyland ($135 per day per person; if you take the day off from work, $97). [google.com]

      -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

      • (Score: 2) by captain normal on Wednesday March 21 2018, @01:33AM

        by captain normal (2205) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @01:33AM (#655785)

        I know coding is cheap. But $12 per hour? Coders were making 5 times that in the 1980s. That's why when I saw where this software stuff was going 4 decades ago, I stuck with facilities. Just about any hairless monkey can code. It just takes practice. Now reading 200 pages of blueprints and 4+ volumes of specifications requires some real skill. People still call me for work even though they know I'm retired. And The money they want to toss at me is totally ridiculous. I'd be tempted, but I'm happy just being able to go sailing (or fishing like TMB) whenever I want. I don't live in a big mansion, but my kids and nieces and nephews all got to go to good universities and doing good on their own now. Plus I'm blessed with good health mainly because I didn't spend years in a cube or dark room staring at a computer screen.

        --
        When life isn't going right, go left.