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What the hell does one's happiness have to do with their ability to pay the rent, the power bill, the car payment, etc.? The crux of income equality is not, 'oh, poor Mr. Jones' car isn't nearly as nice as rich Mr. Potter's. Poor Mr. Jones.' It's 'poor Mr. Jones is having to make the choice this month between paying his car payment and feeding his kids while rich Mr. Potter doesn't even have to pay for his car (or his gas or his car washes or his car repair, for that matter) because it's part of his 'income.'
If people can't even conceive that the problem is not not being able to buy the nicest things, but in fact not being able to afford to even subsist within the societal framework that has been provided for us without making hard choices every month then you don't have any business having this discussion.
No material things do not buy happiness. And not being able to pay your bills every month does not necessarily rob you of happiness. Therefore 'happiness' as a factor in determining the fairness of the ever-widening income disparity in this country is a moot point. And a frigging weird one, too...in my opinion.
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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce
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