Many economists agree on a conventional wisdom about the relationship between money and happiness: The more money you have, the happier you tend to be. This is because they notice that people, when selling goods, aim to sell for the highest possible price, and when purchasing goods, tend to buy at the lowest possible price. Because people like to hold on to their money, economists feel that money must bring them some sort of joy. Sharon Begley, the author of the article "Why Money Doesn't Buy Happiness," contradicts this belief by explaining that money only makes people happier if it brings them from being extremely impoverished to being middle class. The happiness of wealthier people does not seem to increase with income, and is more affected by social relationships and enjoyment at work. I agree with this, because many of the people who live in Smithtown are of similar economic ranks, and they display different levels of happiness. Although a homeless person will not be as happy as a middle class person, a middle class person has just as good a chance of being happy as an upper class person.
In the article, Begley discusses how people with large incomes have more options for goods than people with medium-sized incomes, an this can be overwhelming and reduce happiness. Although it is good to have options of goods to purchase, having too many options leads a person to continuously second-guess himself/herself about whether or not he/she made the right choice. As the economy expands, more people are able to afford certain goods that were once only available to the elite (such as washing machines, cell phones), and now these items have become a necessity for life. Because everyone middle class and above can afford these "necessities," the quality of life above the middle class does not increase much with income. People still desire money though, and this leads people to make tough decisions, including college choices. Some people will want to spend more money on college to get a better chance at a high paying job later in life, while other people want to save their money and go to a cheaper school, but may risk their chance at high paying jobs in the future. I believe that money does not truly buy happiness, but people have a much better chance at being happy if they have more money. This is why many people pass up interesting majors in college for less interesting, but more beneficial majors for high paying careers. Money doesn't buy happiness, but it's easier to be happy and wealthy than happy and poor.
