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Oh so I guess I shouldn't go to a resort to vacation because of the happiness level of the service staff, or eat out at a restaurant. People can afford differen
by JCharante 9y ago
Oh so I guess I shouldn't go to a resort to vacation because of the happiness level of the service staff, or eat out at a restaurant. People can afford different luxuries, so you shouldn't deprive yourself of the ones you can afford just because some luxuries are better than others.
- beambot 9y agoMy point: many people are dramatically unhappy due to finances... Either because they come from a lower economic class or because they are massively in debt precisely because they buy things (takeout and maid service?) that they cannot afford. The advice "spend to be happier" with this type of services seriously needs the caveat that not everyone should blindly spend spend spend.
- nl 9y agoActually, they address this explicitly to some extent: And it didn’t matter if they were rich or poor: People benefited from buying time regardless of where they fell on the income spectrum. (The authors note, though, that may not hold true for the poorest of the poor.) Neither the NYTimes article or the research paper addresses debt. Nor does it address if punching yourself in the face increases or deceases happiness, nor if the lesser savings of someone who spends on a maid makes them miserable in 50 years time when they retire.
- andrepd 9y agoWell, kind of. I don't want to be that guy, but the reason you can go to those fancy resorts is precisely because the vast majority of people cannot (like the resort service staff).