All those sayings about how money can’t buy happiness? They’re mostly false.
That’s the basic takeaway from a recent study showing that 90% of people earning more than $500,000 a year say they are “completely” or “very” satisfied with their lives. By contrast, just 44% of people earning less than $35,000 a year are completely or very satisfied.
One-percenters may still have bad days and bad divorces and lose people they love and fight with their kids or their parents. But they don’t worry about paying medical bills or going hungry. They know that even if their kids screw up every which way, they’re more likely to go to college and get good jobs than poor kids who do everything right.
Lower-income people in the United States are deprived of a basic sense of hope that they and their loved ones can get ahead. High-income people have every reason to believe the world will be a kind place.
And yet, The Washington Post points out, while six out of 10 people believe that inequality is too high (most Democrats, not very many Republicans)—and while we see these staggeringly different outcomes at different income levels—just 42% of people say that reducing economic inequality should be a top priority for the federal government.