Wealth, Poverty and Happiness

Yesterday my friend, Milind, commented on his Facebook wall. "Often wealthy chaps are less happier than poor ones."
To which I replied: "I am yet to see a wealthy person who is unhappy. These statements are only good in feel-good-self-help type of books."
 
Then I thought that it will be better if I just wrote an article about wealth, poverty and happiness.

To say that poorer nations are happier is probably a stab at rich countries and at capitalism. "Wealthy people are less happier than poor ones" is implying somehow that the wealth has caused the unhappinss and poverty is better if you want to happy. This is utter nonsense in my opinion.
 
What one means by “happiness”
Happiness is very subjective in my opinion. But we need to measure it somehow so that we can actually compare it among different people. Everyone knows that Food, Health-care, Shelter, Clothing are basic needs of any human being. Let us add education also to the list because nowadays having good education is essential for a better lifestyle.
Majority of people have the view that money is the best measure of the value of one’s life and that's why all the nations are advocating for GDP growth for raising the poor to the rich. That way we can "compare" the lifestyle and standard of living.
 
Maslow's Principle
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and lowest levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualization at the top, also the needs for people.
The lower four layers of the pyramid contain what Maslow called "deficiency needs" or "d-needs": physiological (including sexuality), security of position, friendship and love, and esteem. With the exception of the lowest (physiological) needs, if these "deficiency needs" are not met, the body gives no physical indication but the individual feels anxious and tense. In other words, the hierarchy level of need moves upwards as soon as the previous level of need is satisfied.
Now considering that there will always be some critisism for any theory, I think that Maslow's hierarchy
is based on common sense and so I tend to agree with it. There will certainly be exceptions (example: computer hackers who program for love of learning Vs. love of money), but these will be considered exceptions rather than the rule.
 
What will fulfil the basic needs of a person? (lowest level in Maslow's Hierarchy)
Simple answer is Money.
 
What will fulfil other needs of a person or make him happy?
This is where it gets interesting. Usually we imply that poverty means suffering and unhappiness, then
wealth equals happiness.
Let's say we have 2 friends in Mumbai, India who want to visit Taj Mahal. A simple dream. One of them is very wealthy, earning 1 lakh rupees per month and he can afford to fly to New Delhi, hire an air-conditioned taxi and visit Taj Mahal. But his friend is a street hawker earning 5,000 rupees a month. He certainly cannot afford to go by air. So both friends decide to travel by train. The train ticket is 1000 rupees per person which is 1% of income for wealthy guy, but 20% of income for the poor guy. Bear in mind that railways do not change their pricing based on "your" income level or "your" net worth. Either you pay the full price or do not travel. Now do you get the point?
 
Our wealthy friend may travel in air conditioned car, and still complain about the noise, traffic etc. He may not be happy after the trip. On the other hand, poor guy is happy because he fulfilled his lifelong dream of visiting Taj Mahal.
 
Money may not give you happiness, but it certainly helps to in a big way for you to be happy. On the other hand, poverty sure doesn't help. This is the main argument here.
 
Although I may love being a professor or being a full-time gardener, will my children pay the price
for my happiness if I cannot pay for their college tuition?
 
Ask yourself a question: Would you rather be "Wealthy and Unhappy" or be "Happy, but Hungry".
You will get an answer immediately. As far as I am concerned, I already know the answer. :)
You can your calculate your own position by visiting www.globalrichlist.com
1. Unhappy people focus on what they don’t have rather than what they do.
2. Unhappy people need to learn how to manage their exceptations.
3. Improve your net worth. Poverty is not going to make you happy for sure.
 
References:
1. Money Does Not Equal Happiness....But Poverty Sure Doesn't Help
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/environmental_law/2008/10/money-does-not.html
Take a look at the world happiness map.  The richest countries do not have the highest degree
of satisfaction with life.  But the poorest countries certainly have a far lower level of happiness.
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/environmental_law/files/happiness_map.pdf
2. http://www.unh.edu/academic-affairs/discovery/dialogue/2008/pdf/packet_smith.pdf