Americans rate their well-being lower than Venezuelans

cyberhog

According to Gallup's well-being survey, published in April, Venezuelans are happier with their lives than Americans.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/147167/High-Wellbeing-Eludes-Masses-Countries-Worldwide.aspx


Venezuela seems to be heading in the right direction.Maybe Americans would feel happier if they didn't spend so much time whining about Chavez?

sarumite

cyberhog wrote: »

Venezuela seems to be heading in the right direction.Maybe Americans would feel happier if they didn't spend so much time whining about Chavez?

Why? Americans are still higher than most Europeans and they don't spend much time whining about Chavez. If I was going down your line of "logic" I could argue that maybe if Europeans spent more time whining about Chavez they would be happy.

Laminations

Asked the same questions, what Venezuelans constitute as happiness is probably very different than Americans. With cross-cultural research you get different interpretations of the question that can cause what look like actual differences.

Using behavioural vignettes would probably result in more accurate comparisons.

Manic Moran

cyberhog wrote: »

According to Gallup's well-being survey, published in April, Venezuelans are happier with their lives than Americans.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/147167/High-Wellbeing-Eludes-Masses-Countries-Worldwide.aspx


Venezuela seems to be heading in the right direction.Maybe Americans would feel happier if they didn't spend so much time whining about Chavez?

I don't think it's the whining about Chavez that's causing it. Many Americans (and, frankly, First-worlders in general) just don't realise how well we have it. Complaining about the registration fee on your R.V. and how many hours you need to sit in the DMV to register it may decrease the American 'happiness quotient', but then it's because we expect to be able to have an R.V. if we want one, without too much trouble.

I doubt an R.V. enteres into the average Venezuelan's thinking all that often. "I'm alive. I've got all my limbs and both eyes. I've a roof over my head. I'm happy."

NTM

southsiderosie

cyberhog wrote: »

According to Gallup's well-being survey, published in April, Venezuelans are happier with their lives than Americans.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/147167/High-Wellbeing-Eludes-Masses-Countries-Worldwide.aspx


Venezuela seems to be heading in the right direction.Maybe Americans would feel happier if they didn't spend so much time whining about Chavez?

Looking further down the list of that survey, both El Salvador and Guatemala, two of the world's poorest and most violent countries, come in ahead of safe, stable, wealthy Singapore. Would anyone really argue that the Guatemalan government is doing something right that the Singaporean government is not? There is definitely something else going on here.

Latin Americans in general consistently come in as the 'happiest' region in the world in international surveys (see here here, here, and here). Interestingly, although Puerto Ricans are US citizens (but not a state), in terms of happiness, they trend in the same direction as other Latin American states, suggesting that there is something about Latin - and in particular Caribbean - culture that drives happiness, as opposed to government policy, GDP, or other more quantifiable factors. The historically consistent findings on Latin American countries is all the more startling considering that it is the region with the most income inequality and some of the highest murder rates and levels of urban crime in the world.

So, no, I don't think that this has anything to do with Chavez (or Evo, or any other leader who tweaks the Americans on a regular basis) and everything to do with certain cultural values specific to the region.

Denerick

I can't understand this college boy, playing--at-being-a-socialist-until-you-get-your-graduate-job circle jerk around Hugo Chavez. The man is clearly a demagogue and a dangerous tyrant who has exploited the fears and prejudices of the masses, and has single handedly destroyed his economy and any traces of political liberty that country once had.

On the other hand, I can now see why so many European leftists were so willing and able to praise the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and even Joseph Stalin in his heydey. I suppose if you shut your ears and shout 'socialism!socialism!socialism!' loud enough you can make any uncomfortable truth disappear.

cyberhog

Denerick wrote: »

The man is clearly a demagogue and a dangerous tyrant who has exploited the fears and prejudices of the masses, and has single handedly destroyed his economy and any traces of political liberty that country once had.

lol Such nonsense, you could get a job at Fox News with these kinds of lies. Just last month Venezuela announced that extra income from oil will be used for social spending.

http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2011/april/23/latinamerica11042301.htm

If the price of a barrel of oil is between 70 and 90 USD, the contribution will be 80 percent, which will reach 90 percent if the price is over $90 UDS and less than $100 USD, Chavez noted.

The president added that in case the price of a barrel of oil exceeds 100 USD, as is currently the case, the contribution to Fonden will reach 95 percent of the incomes.

All those resources will be used in socio-economic projects, in order to adjust to the reality and guarantee that the people be most benefited, said Chavez.

Oh, the Horror! using resources to help THE PEOPLE instead of the uber-wealthy leisure class

Denerick

You're doing a rather good job at proving my point. Shut your ears, scream socialism. Take a few strategically chosen internet articles and voila!

southsiderosie

cyberhog wrote: »

lol Such nonsense, you could get a job at Fox News with these kinds of lies. Just last month Venezuela announced that extra income from oil will be used for social spending.

http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2011/april/23/latinamerica11042301.htm



Oh, the Horror! using resources to help THE PEOPLE instead of the uber-wealthy leisure class

Mexico uses huge amounts of its oil revenue on domestic social spending, and not only is it not enough to stop the truly frightening levels of violence, but long-term it has sapped PEMEX's ability to invest in new technology so overall output has fallen. But I suspect that it doesn't matter a whit what anyone says about what's going on in the region if it doesn't fit a very specific pro-Chavez narrative, so having been down this road before, I'll leave it at that.

cyberhog

With regard to investments, Venezuela will have a more flexible approach than Mexico and foreign companies won't pay the tax on new production until they have recouped their investment.

Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez told Reuters in an interview that joint ventures committed to boosting output from fields in the continent’s biggest crude producer would not have to pay the tax on the extra barrels they pumped.

“The new developments are excluded and the projects that increase their production,” he said.

“The criteria is that the companies bringing money to increase output will not be liable … Until they’ve recovered their investments, they will be exempt from the tax.”

http://www.bestgrowthstock.com/stock-market-news/2011/04/25/new-oil-production-spared-tough-venezuela-tax/

Denerick

Do you have knowledge whatsoever about what is happening in Venezuala that isn't coloured by leftist propaganda?

southsiderosie

cyberhog wrote: »

With regard to investments, Venezuela will have a more flexible approach than Mexico and foreign companies won't pay the tax on new production until they have recouped their investment.



http://www.bestgrowthstock.com/stock-market-news/2011/04/25/new-oil-production-spared-tough-venezuela-tax/

Are we reading the same article? The one you cited specifically noted that the Venezuelan state oil company has cash flow problems due to social spending.

cheesehead

An anecdote, so take FWIW: A former work colleague is a proud Venezuelan Jew (grandparents left Germany in late '30s and migrated to Caracas). Family built up an extremely successful business. My colleague went to university in US, married an American and began her career in US.

She often relayed things "were deteriorating" in Venezuela, with many folks attempting to "get out" - many to Florida. Her brother sent his wife and young daughter to Miami area, with him staying behind in Caracas to run the family business with his teenage son.

One morning at work, my colleague appeared completely shaken. While her brother had previously been the victim of car-jacking/kidnapping attempts (none successful), the previous evening the brother/teenage son were able to violently stave-off a car-jacking attempt. Realizing they "literally" dodged a bullet, the brother made for home, threw an overnight bag together and he and the son caught the next flight out to Miami.

From the US State Department site:

"Violent crime in Venezuela is pervasive, both in the capital, Caracas, and in the interior. The country’s overall per capita murder rate is cited as one of the top five in the world. The Venezuelan National Counter Kidnapping Commission was created in 2006, and since then, official statistics have shown alarming increases in reported kidnappings throughout the country. In fact, kidnappings in 2009 have increased anywhere from 40-60 percent from the previous year. Surveys show that the overwhelming majority of kidnappings and other major crimes are not reported to the police. Armed robberies take place throughout the city, including areas generally presumed safe and frequented by tourists. Well-armed criminal gangs operate widely, often setting up fake police checkpoints. Only a very small percentage of crimes result in trials and convictions"

Draw your own conclusions.