Even as the United States economy improved after the end of the Great Recession, the report said, happiness among adults did not rebound and continues a slow decline ongoing since at least 2000.
By Christopher Ingraham Christopher Ingraham Reporter covering all things data Email Bio Follow March 22 at 7:30 AM Life in America keeps getting more miserable, according to the latest data from the General Social Survey, one of the longest-running and most highly regarded public opinion research projects in the nation.
Other recent research confirms this trend. The latest World Happiness Report, released this week, finds that a separate measure of overall life satisfaction took a 6 percent plunge in the United States between 2007 and 2018. Happiness research is “a useful antidote to the tendency of economists to focus exclusively on material determinants of social welfare,” as then-Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke put it in a commencement address in 2010. “GDP is not itself the final objective of policy.”
Republicans, for instance, have maintained a consistent happiness edge over Democrats since the 1970s. The two trend lines generally move in tandem and don’t appear to show much response to changes in the occupancy of the White House. One potential explanation is Republicans’ greater religiosity, which other research has linked to happiness and life satisfaction.
Looking at responses by self-reported economic class offers a complicated picture of happiness. Americans identifying as lower or middle class report a modest decline in happiness since the 1990s. But the picture is drastically different among the upper class, for whom happiness plateaued in the 1990s, dropped steeply about 2008, and has been then rising steadily ever since.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Poll: Americans say even the legal breaks for college admission are rigging the systemA USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll finds wide suspicion of college admissions and opposition to legal preferences for alums, athletes and minorities.
Read more »
Even most Americans with $10,000 to invest couldn't answer these 3 money questionsEven most Americans with $10,000 to invest couldn't answer these 3 money questions via CNBCMakeIt
Read more »
Trump warns he'll keep China tariffs for 'substantial period of time'Donald Trump said the United States will not immediately lift tariffs on $250 million worth of Chinese goods even if a trade deal with Beijing is reached in the coming weeks
Read more »
Opinion | Republicans must reject Trump's disgraceful attacks on John McCainWe should all do what's right, even if the president of the United States might make you the next target of one of his shameful attacks.
Read more »
Even Before The Elizabeth Holmes Film Hit HBO, Theranos Cast A Long Shadow On Healthcare StartupsOn Monday, a documentary on Elizabeth Holmes and her fraudulent blood-testing company Theranos will air on HBO. The story has already become a reference point for startups trying to hack healthcare.
Read more »
Facebook and Google broke down barriers to broadcast media — even for mass killersIn the new era of frictionless streaming and sharing, the Christchurch killer used the tech world's biggest platforms to broadcast mass murder to the masses, SamAugustDean writes.
Read more »
Even Shake Shack is trying a four-day workweekThere’s been a growing consensus that switching from the traditional five-day, 40-hour workweek to just four days a week could be a recipe for success
Read more »
The small treats of Nowruz are the sweetest — and even better when they’re homemadeHere’s how to make the confections so widely prized in Iran.
Read more »
Even Lil Pump Can’t Have It AllThe 18-year-old rapper’s Instagram flexes about money, drugs, and women have earned him millions of fans. In person, things aren’t quite so fun.
Read more »
In picking Microsoft's cloud, Volkswagen shows that even carmakers have some fear of AmazonMicrosoft CEO Satya Nadella has vowed to not compete with partners, which was a selling point for Volkswagen when choosing a cloud vendor.
Read more »