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Comment by lbrito | Hacker News Reader

Good article with a weird title. Why assume wealth and happiness are correlated?

Richard Easterlin found a correlation in 1974, and subsequent studies have reinforced that. See the Introduction in https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9802463/.

Stereotypes of extrema in wealth are attached to images of extrema in happiness. The poor sad person vs the rich happy one. Cliché are often great tools to make quick judgment, but of course quick judgements often fail miserably when it comes to scale the idea.

Because it is mostly true? I've seen wealth and happiness in society a lot more than poverty and happiness.

Because research on this topic supports it. Happiness and wealth are correlated.

Only up to a certain point, no? I remember it was something around 100k USD, maybe 10ish years ago.

This is pretty intuitive. Its nice not to have to worry about money, but what is the difference between having 1M NW and 100M? If you're a mentally normal person, it just more mental burden.

Recent research disproves the old limit which has grabbed headlines like that old half a glass of red wine is good for you paper.

And also. Up to a certain point is still a correlation. Getting a lot of downvotes by people not knowing what a correlation is.

Really? Last I read the correlation breaks above a certain threshold, roughly that of "I don't need to worry about food or bills".

It's worth noting that while the curve flattens above a threshold, it doesn't level off completely at that threshold, there is still a positive correlation, just a smaller one.

No, that study was constantly misreported on. There's a nice correlation all the way up.

And that threshold would set someone in among richest 1 percent in the world.

And when is that exactly? It definitely isn't making (unadjusted for inflation) the $70k that study suggests.

People are happy when they are secure and unhappy when they are insecure. Who can you name is secure in all of their physical, social, mental, spiritual, etc needs right now?

It's how Americans think life works (I've fallen victim to it as well).

it is how life works

money and happiness are correlated.

Having been covered a good deal of the wealth across my life, I disagree. (Although it is possible of course that I was just happier when I was younger—poverty being beside the point.)

it is well established that they are correlated.

that doesnt mean that wealth is the only factor of happiness, nor is it the strongest. but it is correlated.

I don't question that.

I wonder though if there is a sweet spot—a goldilocks degree of wealth. Too much wealth becomes a burden itself.

Is there a linear relationship between wealth and happy? Someone 10× as wealthy as another person—10× happier?

I suspect not.

if you spend time traveling (I have, significant time - can't imagine a different life) you will unmistakably conclude that happiest people, by far are from the poor(est) countries. it is only "western minds" that think (this is ingrained in societies like USA) wealth and happiness are correlated.

the happiest part of my life was when I had nothing materially (but no debt, just basically at zero, making enough to live paycheck to paycheck)

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