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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Americans are a sour group these days.
Gallop does a country-by-country survey that asks people a simple question: “are you happy?” For the first time ever, the United States no longer ranks in the top 20. We’re 23rd. The happiest nations on earth are the Scandinavian countries. Lithuania, Denmark and Finland are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Finland has been ranked number-1 for 7 years running.
I think the survey is remarkable. Finland is a welfare state. The country gets most of its resources from oil. Taxes are incredibly high. But the government provides everything, from health care, to parks, to a college education. The deal is, we’ll talk all of your money but we’ll give you everything.
I understand why America is ranked lower. We haven’t been a politically united country since Ronald Reagan and pre-sex scandal Bill Clinton. They were popular with people from both parties, but they were in office 40 years ago. Since then, people from the other parties have generally hated when their political opponents were in the White House.
I get why no one is particularly pleased with American politics. Joe Biden’s approval rating on the border – which ranks as the number one issue of concern among voters – is a dismal 28%. Inflation? We’re rated as if we’re idiots being told that prices are coming down. They are not. Grocery prices are up 21% since Biden took office. Gas prices? The Biden price is $3.49 a gallon, and the president will not betray his environmental constituents by giving oil refineries an exemption on much more expensive summer blends of gasoline.
And yet, I’m still an optimist about America. Right now in Central Wisconsin, there are manufacturing companies that have $20 an hour jobs that are open. They’ll train you. And with the $40,000 salary you’ll earn, you can afford the rent on an $800 apartment and have money left over to support yourself. Work hard, and you’ll get a raise or a promotion. Only in America is that possible. If you work hard, you can stand on your own two feet and get ahead.
And that’s what makes me happy about living here. Work for it, and it can still happen for you. That’s so much more pleasing than being in a country where everything is given to you, but you’re taxed to the hilt. If you’re more of a sleep-in and let it be given to you, then Finland is your type of place.
Chris Conley
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