The Happy Gene Takes You Only So Far January 20, 2024January 19, 2024 But first the good news: > As headlined in the Wall Street Journal: Americans Are Suddenly Upbeat About Economy. Sentiment Just Logged Its Biggest Jump in Decades. University of Michigan gauge posts largest two-month gain since 1991. > Unemployment is wonderfully low. > Wage gains have begun outstripping inflation. > Mortgage rates have started to fall. > Gas prices that Putin sent soaring — while still higher than any driver would like — have dropped sharply. Send this article to anyone who doesn’t realize how much Biden did to make that happen (among other things, we are now producing more oil than any nation in history) . . . but also to every environmentalist who faults him for that (because it will almost surely change their view). > We’ve finally begun revitalizing our national infrastructure. > “Made in America is back, leaving US factories scrambling to find workers.” > And as you probably saw, stocks hit a record high yesterday. And now, even so: The Rising Tide Of Global Sadness — David Brooks on inequality. Executive summary: . . . The top 20 percent of the world is experiencing the highest level of happiness and well-being since Gallup began measuring these things. The bottom 20 percent is experiencing the worst. It’s a fundamentally unjust and unstable situation. The emotional health of the world is shattering. He goes on to say . . . Counties in the United States that saw the largest gain in voting Republican for president between the 2012 election and Donald Trump’s election in 2016 were also the counties where people rated their lives the worst. Which is at once understandable and frightening: unhappy people are most likely to be angry and, thus, to vote for the angry candidate. The one who says everything is rigged against you and that he alone can fix it. Who plays to fear (“If Biden wins, you’re gonna have a stock market collapse the likes of which you’ve never had.“) and promises to get you “terrific health care at a tiny fraction of the cost” without ever revealing how (or ever really trying). (Worth reading, if you have time: The Affordable Care Act Saved My Life. Donald Trump Wants To Destroy It, Again.) It’s tragic, because the angriest candidate and his angry party are relentless in trying to advantage the top 1% while fighting the things that could stem “the rising tide of sadness” among everybody else. Things like a higher minimum wage . . . $35 insulin . . . affordable health care . . . the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau . . . the Child Tax Credit. How unsurprising is this headline? Most kids losing Medicaid come from just nine states all led by Republicans. People are right to be angry; but on most issues, they’re angry at the wrong team. In case you can help keep things on track, click here. Have a great weekend!