> same levels of happiness, Because, it's harder to be happy when you consider your money is being spent for 'those people' in Alabama, who are really nothing

> same levels of happiness, Because, it's harder to be happy when you consider your money is being spent for 'those people' in Alabama, who are really nothing like you, than it is for you to be upset that your poor neighbor -- who you see everyday -- is benefiting from your taxes. The United States is a conglomeration of sovereign entities, the states, and thus you see exactly the kind of disarray as you see in other supra-sovereign entities, such as the EU. While many member countries are certainly quite harmonious, with high standards of living, the quality among countries is quite striking, as is the general distaste whenever someone suggests wealth transfers between them. Canada is also a federation, but, there's so few Canadians, and most of them have a common enemy -- the Quebecois.