The happiest places on Earth are heavily taxed - Thomas Kostigen's Ethics Monitor - MarketWatch "SANTA MONICA, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- Northern Europeans are the happiest people on the planet, according to a new survey. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says people in Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands are the most content with their lives. The three ranked first, second and third, respectively, in the OECD's rankings of "life satisfaction," or happiness. There are myriad reasons, of course, for happiness: health, welfare, prosperity, leisure time, strong family, social connections and so on. But there is another common denominator among this group of happy people: taxes. Northern Europeans pay some of the highest taxes in the world. Danes pay about two-thirds of their income in taxes. Why be so happy about that? It all comes down to what you get in return. The Encyclopedia of the Nations notes that Denmark was one of the first countries in the world to establish efficient social services with the introduction of relief for the sick, unemployed and aged. It says social welfare programs include health insurance, health and hospital services, insurance for occupational injuries, unemployment insurance and employment exchange services. There's also old age and disability pensions, rehabilitation and nursing homes, family welfare subsidies, general public welfare and payments for military accidents. Moreover, maternity benefits are payable up to 52 weeks. Simply, you pay for what you get. Taxes in the U.S. have taken on a pejorative association because, well, we are never really quite sure of what we get in return for paying them, other than the world's biggest military. Healthcare and other such social services aren't built into our system. That means we have to worry more about paying for things ourselves. Worrying doesn't equate to happiness. The U.S. ranked 11th on the OECD list. In addition to the top three, we were beat out by Sweden, Belgium, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Norway. To be sure, we were ahead of France, Great Britain, Japan and China, among many others. But we can do better. With the highest gross domestic product in the world, we are the richest country. On a per capita basis, though, we don't even make the top 10. The U.S. ranks 15th in this category, according to the International Monetary Fund. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t Denmark -- maybe because they are happy -- ranked fifth. Other, more "satisfied" countries also earn more on an individual income basis. Oh yes, and the average workweek in Scandinavian countries is less than the U.S.'s We need to take better care of ourselves. It may not just be taxes, of course, that lead to happiness. There are other factors to consider. But better social services and less worry about having to pay for things such as medical bills, retirement and education do help with the happiness factor. Yet, we are so dead set against paying more taxes that it's even spawning nationwide protests. Tea party, anyone? \t\t\t\t\t\t\t Maybe it's time that we looked at taxes differently. We have to pay them anyway. So they might as well make us happy. If Northern Europe is any benchmark, the more we'd pay the happier we just may be."
if there are certain things we ALL need, a socialized system makes them cost less.. and it makes sense that things we want (that require human labor to create) would be found in a free market capitalist field
oh...say..like Finland? Very happy people there too, huge free market. I tend to see people confusing socialized programs as being a socialist governing body...same type seem to not understand the difference in a democratic republic and a democracy...oh well.
shh don't let the resident teabaggers see this. They think that if we just ended all taxes and let the government collapse everything would be peachy.
"Happy" is a subjective value. They may be happy but how would you explain why Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, and France are some of the only westernized countries in the top 25 (nations) with regard to suicide rate? List of countries by suicide rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Correlation doesn't imply causation. All valuations are made subjectively. I'd like to take a survey of people asking them if they had a choice to either pay taxes (effectively donate to the government) or not pay taxes, which would they choose? Hell, it would be more scientific than this survey. I'm happier here (in the northeastern US) than I would be in Northern Europe.
well, I have to admit I'd be happier living in the northwest, from north Cali to Washington state...but wouldn't mind sampling northern EU countries. As to taxes, be sure to include desired results of those paid taxes meeting their ideals of how taxes should be used. I know in the USA, most would say FUCK NO on paying taxes due to how poorly the monies are managed. Can't claim to have first hand knowledge of EU peoples thoughts...
1950's america used to be the happiest place. lol at the suicide thing, south korea pretty high suicide rate, even there president committed suicide (true fact look it up bro)
How does one judge " happiness " of an area? lol? and then apply it through out the world in some sort of list of most happy people as if the same thing makes every one happy?
Pretty much, who needs government? Especially a huge centralized 'federal' government... Wouldn't have to worry about their SWAT Teams busting your door down over student loans, raw milk, or a plant you like to smoke... Wouldn't have to worry about some knuckle-dragging mouth breather feeling you up before a flight either. I'd imagine the families of the millions of innocent people that have been murdered in OUR name would appreciate it as well... "Whenever you put your faith in big government for any reason, sooner or later you wind up an apologist for mass murder." - Karl Hess - [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV7u91A3KGQ]Lindy: "No Knock Raid" - a song about the drug war's deadliest tactic. - YouTube[/ame] Lindy: "No Knock Raid" - a song about the drug war's deadliest tactic. - YouTube
Tea baggers don't think that "letting" the government collapse would make everything peachy. Rather, they know the government is already going to collapse, so lets get it over with.
Your reasons have nothing to do with a central governing body that imposes higher taxes on it's citizens for social programs. They have more to do with a paranoid, conservative, greedy superpower that is constantly looking for it's own identity.
Welfare/Warfare, it's all big government. Both must resort to force, threats, guns, and imprisonment. I don't divide and conquer, I call bullshit on all of it...which it is.
Well in America you simply add up all of the white people in the area, and then add up all of the others...if the white people are in the majority, they are happy. Then divide by zero.
I admire the pioneers who settled America. They had hardships we can't even begin to imagine and they did it without FEMA, welfare, unions, government regulations, or politicians telling them how to do everything including what to eat and how much.
Not that I disagree with the point you are trying to make, but in Asian cultures, if you fuck up badly, you kill yourself. If you are a CEO and your company fails, you kill yourself. If you are President and your country has some severe hardship, you kill yourself. People hold THEMSELVES accountable. The US is nothing like that. In America we blame our failures on someone else, use our failing company's last $1,000,000 to write ourselves a golden parachute, our President blames all of his woes on the last guy/next guy and retires to go on the lecture circuit. If you ask me, we could use a higher suicide rate around here. Too many failures are repeated. There's no accountability for anything.
Yaay go Northern Europeans!!!!!!!!!!!. I'm happy with our semi-socialist system, they tax the shit out of us but give it back to the people. I just hope we don't get dragged into any more of NATO's wars because that could fuck everything up.