What would we do without analysts?

Some researchers have made startling, earth-shattering findings about society!

A paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that how happy you are has to do with whether you are married. Imagine that!

"Money buys some degree of happiness, but not a lot," said [one of the researchers]. A far bigger contributor to happiness is marriage. A spouse provides as much extra happiness as $100,000 in new income, reckoned [that reseacher]. Moreover, they discovered that those in a monogamous, faithful marriage are the happiest. Those who cheat on their spouses are less happy. Those who have ever paid for sex are much less happy than others. And so are those who divorce.

Let's see . . . if you live in a loving, dedicated, stable relationship with another human being to whom God has united you, you're happy. If you're a hedonistic, selfish, self-absorbed brat, you're sad. Where have I heard things that might suggest this pattern before? It all sounds so familiar . . . Of course, I'm also sure that having a good spouse is worth a lot more than $100,000 -- but come on, this is the 21st century, we put a monetary value on everything. It's all just "stuff," right?

Source
File Under: Miscellany