Haley Monta

Can Money Bring Happiness?

If I give you $500 right now, would you be satisfied? Overjoyed? Ecstatic that you now have
money in your pocket? Now visualize that very same scenario except this time, instead of cash I
give you a picture that I drew by hand. You may be grateful for a thoughtful gift but lets be
honest. If I give you the option to choose between my art and the money, youd pick the money
right? Why? Because it makes you happier.

Now let me ask you this : Can money bring you happiness?

It has been said that The best things are life are free or Money can't buy you happiness but is
that really true? Now this is an extremely controversial topic and personally I can argue for both
sides. But today my stan is with yes. Money can buy happiness.

(a) A recent study in 2016 from Case Western University found a strong relationship
between income and an individuals emotional well-being and quality of life. According to
the study, every dollar makes a significant difference in reducing negative emotions for
people in the 20th income percentile, but those returns fall off by the 80th income
percentile and disappear at around $200,000, according to the study. These statistics
show that the more money earned, the happier people seem to become.

The more money you have in your pocket, the happier you are right? But just how much
money do Americans make a year and how many of them reach what is considered to
be in the Happy zone of $200,000? The top 7% of all of U.S households own 63% of all
the wealth in the country and have 29 times as much wealth as households in the
bottom 93%. Lower class families average around $9,300, middle class families average
$95,500 and upper class families average roughly $639,400 a year. According to the
Pew Research Center, the median net worth of upper-class families is almost seven-time
as large as middle class families and almost sixty-eight times larger than lower class
families.

(b) Picture this. A billionaire living it up in his $10 million dollar mansion surrounded by
flashy sport cars while a single mother of two children is struggling to pay her bills,
having to juggle between working two jobs and her kids. If you ask the two if they are
happy what do you think their responses would be? In retrospect, the billionaire can
throw around his cash like confetti while the single mother is feeling guilty, depressed,
frustrated for having to choose overtime at work instead of time with her children
because that is the only way theyll make rent this month. Money is a manipulative factor
that does in fact affect the wellbeing of society. Money is essential for survival in several
parts of the world with exceptions such as tribal groups in Africa or outdoors men in
Alaska. Money is a basic need in life to pay for our basic everyday necessities and
sometimes even more.
 Haley Monta

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(c) Some will argue and say that money cant buy happiness and there are some things in
life that can not be bought. You can buy a clock but you cant buy time. You can buy a
bed but you cant buy sleep. You can buy a position but that wont earn you respect.
But you can buy a clock that tells you the time so you can set yourself up to not waste
time. You cant buy sleep but you can buy a bed that helps you sleep. You can buy
respect. Money certainly does, buy the "happy" feeling. But that is different from
"happiness." It could be phrased as "Can money buy pleasure?" Perhaps, it does.
However, when faced with the question "Can money buy happiness?" Perhaps not.
Pleasure could be eating a chocolate cake, for example. Happiness could be sharing a
cake. Pleasure is short lived, lasting a term while happiness is enduring, lasting multiple
terms. You can buy a cake to eat, but you cant buy sharing a cake. Plot Twist. You
could share by buying everyone a cake. It would still be sharing. It is possible to
counter the claim money cant buy happiness because money is a manipulative
variable that can factor into any situation.

Can money bring you happiness? The answer is yes. Without money would you be financially
set up for your future? If you are struggling to pay your bills are you happy? How does it feel to
buy a new car or a new wardrobe? The fact is our society thrives on money. Its an essential
survival factor unless you are prepared to become a caveman and live off of mother nature. A
2015 survey by the American Psychological Association found that money is the leading cause
of stress among Americansespecially for parents, younger adults ages 18 to 49 years old
and, not surprisingly, those living in lower-income households. For the majority of Americans (64
percent), the survey found, money is a "somewhat" or "very significant" source of stress. Every
dollar affects the negative and positive emotions dwelling within our society. We need money.
We need it to buy food, to have a house to live in, to support our families, and to have a stable
well being. So the next time you find yourself questioning whether or not to spend your money,
ask yourself. Will this satisfy me? If only momentarily, can this bring me a small amount of
happiness? Yes. Yes it can.
 Haley Monta

References
Fahey, Mark. 2015. Money can buy happiness, but only to a point. Washington, D.C, Dec 14.

Fry, Richard. 2014. Americas wealth gap between middle-income and upper-income families is
widest on record. Dec 17.

Johnson, Adam. 2016. 45 Million Americans Live in Poverty, but You Wouldn't Know It From
Watching 2016 Coverage. New York City, New York, Jan 5.

O'Connell, Stefanie. 2017. Can Money Buy Happiness? Jan 30.

Sanchez, Lupe. 2016. What is the current poverty rate in the United States?

Yglesia, Matt. 2016. US Household Income. San Francisco.