Bigger government makes for more satisfied people, international study finds

[applegrove]

Bigger government makes for more satisfied people, international study finds

http://phys.org/news/2014-08-bigger-people-international.html

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"The effect of state intervention into the economy equals or exceeds marriage or employment status—two traditional predictors of happiness—when it comes to satisfaction," said Patrick Flavin, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences.

The study—"Assessing the Impact of the Size and Scope of Government on Human Well-Being"—is published in the journal Social Forces. The researchers analyzed data from 21 advanced industrialized countries collected by the World Values Survey from 1981 to 2007, with nearly 50,000 respondents.

The Great Recession from December 2007 to June 2009 intensified debate about how much governments should intervene into the market economy. Conservatives and right-leaning political parties tend to champion free market capitalism and are critical of government intervention, maintaining it can lead to inefficiency and waste that hurts employment, wages, and economic growth. By contrast, left-leaning political parties and labor organizations argue for more intervention into the market to even out the ups and downs of the business cycle, Flavin said.

"We assessed respondents' subjective well-being using a very straightforward question: 'All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?'" Flavin said. On a scale of 1 to 10—with 10 the highest level of satisfaction—the average rating for all respondents for the duration of the survey was 7.48. The United States was ranked at No. 11 out of 21 countries on the list, with an average rating of 7.61.


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-08-bigger-people-international.html#jCp




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[merrily]

1. As far as Americans conservatives go, it is not about bigger government vs.

smaller government. They would like you to believe they are about small government vs. big government, but they are not. They are about utterly soul-less, totally inappropriate, big, big government.

Conservatives believe in a huge military (and militaristic things in general). They never seem to smell a possible military intervention they can't love on first sight, or quickly come to love.

They believe in a government that should determine what movies you see, what you see and hear on television and radio, with whom you have sex, whom you marry, whether you use contraceptives, etc. A government so big that it can force a sonogram on you, even if it cannot force you to look at it. They believe in a government that surveills everyone doing everything because, after all, if you aren't doing anything wrong, why would you care?

IOW, military aside, they would like government to intervene in everything that should be personal and private and confidential, while privatizing that which should be public.

So, please, let's forget the meme about conservatives being about small government. Like so many conservative memes, it is utter bullshit.

[joeybee12]

2. FREEDOM!

I had to say it...anyway, look at some other western countries and their level of satisfaction, bigger governments, happier people...it's a no brainer...

[rocktivity]

3. Candidate for this year's "You Call This NEWS?" Award

Especially when it's occupied by people who are actually interested in making big government work.


rocktivity