DKos says: Government Knows Best When It Comes To Happiness

Here's a scary post: Policy and Happiness. The diarist is saying government should raise taxes because American citizens will just spend it on frivolous items that won't make them happy. Very scary stuff.

"It won't be easy to convince the average commuting suburbanite that maybe they'd be happier with a somewhat smaller house, on a smaller lot, in an actual neighborhood, and riding (gasp) public transit to work--if in exchange they could have some REALLY GREAT public amenities. Even if we throw in guaranteed health care. That whole part of our consciousness has become stunted and dormant. We get a vague glimmer of it when we visit places like Paris, or historic places in the U.S. (Annapolis comes to mind), then we head back home and the spark goes out as we pull the SUV into the 3-car garage and switch on the wide-screen satellite TV. 'Cause we're isolated, self-absorbed, ruggedly individualistic wealthy bastards, and that's the way we like it! God bless America! Greatest country in the world!"