4 ms·

The studies I'm familiar with all indicate that any income above a fixed amount, typically around $70k, has no effect on happiness. In other words, once all bas

The studies I'm familiar with all indicate that any income above a fixed amount, typically around $70k, has no effect on happiness. In other words, once all basic needs are fullfilled, income has no measurable effect on happiness.

int_19h 8y ago
I would dare say that "basic needs" with a $70k price sticker aren't all that basic. I mean, for starters, that's more than twice the median personal income in US. So we're talking about people who live roughly twice as well as the majority of US citizens. This includes stuff like a cozy home, good food, plenty of entertainment, Internet etc - are those really basic? Or do we perceive them as such today, because of how much the bar has been raised? Could that $70k just be "egalitarian enough" with the present income distribution, say? But supposing that theory is right - then all we need to do to secure social stability is to ensure that $70k income for the majority of people in the country. Are there any ways to do so without massive wealth redistribution - which would, coincidentally, also reduce wealth inequality? It feels to me that regardless of which of these two theories are really correct, they prescribe essentially the same treatment, at least short-term.
- danaris 8y ago
  "Basic needs", in this case, does not mean simply "the bare bones necessary for physical survival." It also includes enough financial security, luxury, and leisure time to actually enjoy your life. I mean, it's all about happiness, after all. The point is that once you get beyond that figure (which I have seen quoted at around $80k, but the general idea remains), increases in income correspond to rapidly shrinking marginal increases in happiness. So it's certainly not that once you get past that, you're stuck, flat, forever. It's that below that, lack of money is a major thing preventing you from attaining the full measure of happiness that a secure member of modern society can.
- thelasthuman 8y ago
  Maybe corporations don't have to be so top heavy? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation

int_19h 8y ago

I would dare say that "basic needs" with a $70k price sticker aren't all that basic. I mean, for starters, that's more than twice the median personal income in US. So we're talking about people who live roughly twice as well as the majority of US citizens. This includes stuff like a cozy home, good food, plenty of entertainment, Internet etc - are those really basic? Or do we perceive them as such today, because of how much the bar has been raised? Could that $70k just be "egalitarian enough" with the present income distribution, say? But supposing that theory is right - then all we need to do to secure social stability is to ensure that $70k income for the majority of people in the country. Are there any ways to do so without massive wealth redistribution - which would, coincidentally, also reduce wealth inequality? It feels to me that regardless of which of these two theories are really correct, they prescribe essentially the same treatment, at least short-term.

danaris 8y ago
"Basic needs", in this case, does not mean simply "the bare bones necessary for physical survival." It also includes enough financial security, luxury, and leisure time to actually enjoy your life. I mean, it's all about happiness, after all. The point is that once you get beyond that figure (which I have seen quoted at around $80k, but the general idea remains), increases in income correspond to rapidly shrinking marginal increases in happiness. So it's certainly not that once you get past that, you're stuck, flat, forever. It's that below that, lack of money is a major thing preventing you from attaining the full measure of happiness that a secure member of modern society can.
thelasthuman 8y ago
Maybe corporations don't have to be so top heavy? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation