income inequality is not so appealing. On Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 8:19:38 AM UTC-6, Travis wrote: > > > > 21 Signs That Americans Are The Unhappiest People In The Entire World > <http://endoftheamericandream.com> > ------------------------------ > > 21 Signs That Americans Are The Unhappiest People In The Entire World > <http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/21-signs-that-americans-are-the-unhappiest-people-in-the-entire-world> > > > Posted: 10 Nov 2015 03:32 PM PST > > [image: Sad - Public Domain] <http://amzn.to/1PB5481>How can we possibly > be so miserably unhappy? For a nation that supposedly “has it all”, we > sure are depressed. In America today, suicide rates are soaring, > antidepressant use is skyrocketing and virtually every new survey that > comes out shows that we are deeply dissatisfied about something. But we > live at a time when there are more things to enjoy than ever before. When > I was growing up there was only a handful of television channels to choose > from, but now there are hundreds. We have more movies than we could ever > possibly watch, more books than we could ever possibly read, and the > greatest video games ever made are at our fingertips. With all of the > entertainment that surrounds us, you would think that Americans would be > happier than ever before, and yet we continue to become even more > depressed. Everywhere I go, I see people that look like they have had the > life completely sucked out of them. So why is this happening? The > following are 21 signs that Americans are the unhappiest people in the > entire world… > > *#1* A scientific study that was just released found that U.S. adults are > becoming less happy over the years > <http://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-over-30-are-more-miserable-than-theyve-ever-been-2015-11-09> > … > > “Adults over 30 are less happy than their predecessors,” concludes a study > published online Thursday in the journal Social Psychology and Personality > Science, which examined happiness data from more than 50,000 adults, > gleaned from the General Social Survey, carried out by NORC at the > University of Chicago, a nonpartisan, independent research organization, > which has collected information about American adults since 1972. > > From 2010 to 2014, adults over 30 had an average happiness score of just > 2.18, compared with 2.24 a decade ago. That’s significant considering > happiness scores were measured on a tiny scale from just 1 to 3, with 1 > being “not too happy” and 3 being “very happy.” > > *#2* Young people are also becoming increasingly depressed. Just check > out what one study conducted at San Diego State University discovered > <http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/10/02/3575170/depression-rising-americans/> > … > > Americans are more depressed now than they have been in decades, a recent > study <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140930132832.htm> has > found. San Diego State University (SDSU) psychology professor Jean M. > Twenge analyzed data from nearly 7 million adolescents and adults from > across the country and found that more people reported symptoms of > depression — including sleeplessness and trouble concentrating — compared > to the 1980s. > > Twenge’s findings show that teenagers in the 2010s experience memory > trouble 38 percent more often than their 1980s counterparts. Teens are also > 74 percent more likely to have trouble sleeping and twice as likely to see > a professional for mental health issues. College students in the study > reported feeling overwhelmed by academic and personal demands 50 percent > more often than their 1980s counterparts. > > *#3* Back in 1987, 61.1 percent > <http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/06/20/most-americans-are-unhappy-at-work/> > > of all Americans reported being *happy* at work. Today, 52.3 percent > <http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/06/20/most-americans-are-unhappy-at-work/> > > of all Americans say that they are *unhappy* at work. > > *#4* A different survey found that 70 percent > <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-most-americans-unhappy-at-work/> of > all Americans do not “feel engaged or inspired at their jobs”. > > *#5* One survey of 50-year-old men in the U.S. found that only 12 percent > <http://www.esquire.com/features/facts-about-men-1010> of them said that > they were “very happy”. > > *#6* The number of Americans diagnosed with depression increases by about > 20 percent > <http://www.naturalnews.com/043150_depression_heavy_metal_poisoning_brain_function.html> > > each year. > > *#7* According to the New York Times, more than 30 million Americans > <http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/a-glut-of-antidepressants/> > take antidepressants. > > *#8* Doctors in the United States write more than 250 million > prescriptions > <http://www.wnd.com/2014/02/70-million-americans-taking-mind-altering-drugs/> > for antidepressants each year. > > *#9 *The rate of antidepressant use among middle aged women is far higher > than for the population as a whole. It is hard to believe, but right now one > out of every four women in their 40s and 50s > <http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/a-glut-of-antidepressants/> is > taking an antidepressant medication. > > *#10 *Compared to children in Europe, children in the United States are three > times more likely > <http://www.businessinsider.com/depressing-facts-about-healthcare-system-2011-6#american-kids-are-three-times-as-likely-to-be-prescribed-antidepressants-than-kids-in-europe-9> > > to be prescribed antidepressants. > > *#11* In America today, there are 60 million people > <http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/19-statistics-about-the-drugging-of-america-that-are-almost-too-crazy-to-believe> > > that abuse alcohol and there are 22 million people that use illegal drugs. > > *#12* America has the highest rate of illegal drug use > <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/01/health/webmd/main4222322.shtml> > on the entire planet. > > *#13* One recent poll found that 71 percent > <http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2015/08/31/Poll-Americans-are-dissatisfied-with-their-country/2091441025280/> > > of Americans are dissatisfied with the direction that things are going in > this country. > > *#14* America has the highest divorce rate > <http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo_div_rat-people-divorce-rate> in > the world by a wide margin. > > *#15* America has the highest percentage of one person households > <http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo_one_per_hou-people-one-person-households> > > on the entire planet. > > *#16* 100 years ago, 4.52 people were living in the average U.S. > household, but now the average U.S. household only consists of 2.59 people > <http://www.moneychoice.org/then-vs-now/>. > > *#17* According to the Pew Research Center, only 51 percent > <http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/married-couples-at-a-record-low/2011/12/13/gIQAnJyYsO_story.html> > > of all American adults are married. Back in 1960, 72 percent > <http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/married-couples-at-a-record-low/2011/12/13/gIQAnJyYsO_story.html> > > of all adults in the United States were married. > > *#18* The suicide rate in the United States is now the highest that it > has been in 25 years > <http://www.usnews.com/news/newsgram/articles/2014/10/08/us-suicides-hit-highest-rate-in-25-years> > . > > *#19* According to one absolutely shocking study > <http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/02/01/study-22-military-veterans-commit-suicide-every-day/>, > > 22 military veterans kill themselves in the United States every single day. > > *#20* The suicide rate for Americans between the ages of 35 and 64 rose by > close to 30 percent > <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/health/suicide-rate-rises-sharply-in-us.html?_r=1&;> > > between 1999 and 2010. The number of Americans that are killed by suicide > now exceeds the number of Americans that die as a result of automobile > accidents every year*.* > > *#21* The rate of suicide is highest during the holidays that come at the > end of the year, and 45 percent > <http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-most-depressing-time-of-the-year-in-the-most-depressed-nation-on-the-planet> > > of all Americans say that they dread the Christmas season. The following > comes from a Psychology Today article > <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/200912/why-people-get-depressed-christmas> > … > > We are told that Christmas, for Christians, should be the happiest time of > year, an opportunity to be joyful and grateful with family, friends and > colleagues. Yet, according to the National Institute of Health, Christmas > is the time of year that people experience the highest incidence of > depression. Hospitals and police forces report the highest incidences of > suicide and attempted suicide. Psychiatrists, psychologists and other > mental health professionals report a significant increase in patients > complaining about depression. One North American survey reported that 45% > of respondents dreaded the festive season. > > So why in the world is this happening? > > We have one of the highest standards of living in the world and we are > surrounded by massive amounts of entertainment. > > Yet we are severely depressed. > > And during the “happiest time of the year” we get even more depressed. > > Clearly something has gone very wrong. > > Even more entertainment is not going to fix us, and neither will more > drugging > <http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/drugged-into-oblivion-nearly-60-percent-of-all-u-s-adults-are-on-prescription-drugs> > . > > So what will finally make us happy? > > Please feel free to tell us what you think by posting a comment below… > > <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/endoftheamericandream/OFri?a=aeHG-njtM0E:-wC7Y-idgl8:yIl2AUoC8zA> > > <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/endoftheamericandream/OFri?a=aeHG-njtM0E:-wC7Y-idgl8:gIN9vFwOqvQ> > > <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/endoftheamericandream/OFri?a=aeHG-njtM0E:-wC7Y-idgl8:qj6IDK7rITs> > > <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/endoftheamericandream/OFri?a=aeHG-njtM0E:-wC7Y-idgl8:V_sGLiPBpWU> > > <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/endoftheamericandream/OFri?a=aeHG-njtM0E:-wC7Y-idgl8:l6gmwiTKsz0> > > > Pocketbook Pain: The Rapidly Rising Cost Of Living Is Absolutely Killing > The Middle Class In America > <http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/pocketbook-pain-the-rapidly-rising-cost-of-living-is-absolutely-killing-the-middle-class-in-america> > > > Posted: 09 Nov 2015 04:08 PM PST > > [image: Pain In The Wallet] > <http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/pocketbook-pain-the-rapidly-rising-cost-of-living-is-absolutely-killing-the-middle-class-in-america/pain-in-the-wallet>All > > over America, the middle class is dying and poverty is on the rise > <http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/21-facts-about-the-explosive-growth-of-poverty-in-america-that-will-blow-your-mind>. > > One of the primary reasons for this is the rapidly rising cost of living in > the United States. The cost of just about everything that average families > shell out money for on a regular basis – food, rent, health insurance, etc. > – is rising much faster than wages are. In a previous article I noted that > the federal poverty level for a family of five is $28,410 > <https://www.google.com/#q=federal+poverty+level+2015>, but 51 percent of > all American workers are making less than $30,000 a year > <http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/goodbye-middle-class-51-percent-of-all-american-workers-make-less-than-30000-dollars-a-year> > > at this point. We have seen an explosion in the number of people in this > country that are considered to be “the working poor” and it gets worse with > each passing year. > > One of the most frustrating things for me personally is the rising cost of > health insurance. Barack Obama promised that his program would result in a > decline in health insurance premiums by as much as $2,500 per family, but > in reality average family premiums have increased by a total of $4,865 > <http://news.investors.com/blogs-capital-hill/092315-772384-premiums-have-steadily-climbed-despite-obama-promise-to-cut-them.htm> > > since 2008. > > Just recently, I got a letter informing me that my health insurance > premiums would be going up by close to 20 percent in 2016. That is on top > of an increase of more than 30 percent in 2015. Sadly, the exact same > thing is happening to millions of other families all over the nation. The > following comes from TruNews > <https://www.trunews.com/obamacare-premiums-will-jump-3-times-higher-next-year/> > … > > The Obamacare increases for 2016 have been released. Premiums will > increase 3 times faster than officials claim. > > Every state is different. Every insurer is different. New Mexico > residents, for instance, can expect increases of 8 to 40 percent for the > second-lowest cost silver plan. But for people in other states, including > Arkansas the cost will increase less than 4 percent. Overall the average > increase is 20.3 percent, according to analysis by The Daily Caller News > Foundation, instead of the 7.5 percent originally asserted. > > And of course it isn’t just health insurance. Every time I go to the > grocery store I am stunned by the prices. > > They often try to hide the price increases so that we will not notice > them. Sometimes when I go food shopping I notice that some of my favorite > things are “on sale”, but the sale prices are what the old “regular prices” > used to be. And food companies just keep shrinking package sizes, but the > amount we have to pay stays the same or goes up. > > Unfortunately, our food dollars are never going to stretch any farther > than they do right now. Thanks to erratic global weather, food prices are > quickly moving higher. In fact, according to the Crux > <http://thecrux.com/food-costs-soar-most-in-3-years/> global food prices > just rose by the most that we have seen in three years… > > The effects of El Niño are starting to reach the dinner table, with global > food prices rising the most in three years on supply concerns for > everything from New Zealand milk to sugar in Brazil and Southeast Asian > palm oil. > > An index of 73 food prices increased 3.9%, the biggest jump since July > 2012, to 162 in October, the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization > wrote in a report Thursday. > > The return of the El Niño weather phenomenon is changing weather > conditions around the world, damaging crops with too much rain in some > areas and not enough in others. The price of sugar increased more than that > of any other commodity in the FAO report, soaring 17 percent, the most > since September 2010. Excessive downpours in Brazil, the world’s largest > producer, have slowed harvesting and reduced the amount of sweetener that > can be extracted from cane. > > As a result of this relentless squeeze on our pocketbooks, tens of > millions of families are struggling to pay the bills from month to month, > and the middle class is continually getting smaller. As the middle class > shrinks, poverty is growing and more Americans are becoming dependent on > the government than ever before. The following numbers come out of one of > my previous articles entitled “21 Facts About The Explosive Growth Of > Poverty In America That Will Blow Your Mind > <http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/21-facts-about-the-explosive-growth-of-poverty-in-america-that-will-blow-your-mind> > “… > > *#1* The U.S. Census Bureau says that nearly 47 million Americans > <http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/americas-poverty-problem/405700/> > > are living in poverty right now. > > *#2* Other numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau are also very disturbing. > For example, in 2007 about one out of every eight children in America was > on food stamps. Today, that number is one out of every five > <http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-16.html>. > > *#3* According to Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer, the authors of a > new book entitled “$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America > <http://amzn.to/1MtYB9y>“, there are 1.5 million “ultrapoor” households > in the United States that live on less than two dollars a day. That number > has doubled since 1996. > > *#4* 46 million Americans > <http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/46-million-americans-go-to-food-banks-and-long-lines-for-dwindling-food-supplies-begin-at-630-am> > > use food banks each year, and lines start forming at some U.S. food banks > as early as 6:30 in the morning because people want to get something before > the food supplies run out. > > *#5* The number of homeless children in the U.S. has increased by 60 > percent <http://www.homelesschildrenamerica.org/mediadocs/280.pdf> over > the past six years. > > *#6* According to Poverty USA <http://www.povertyusa.org/>, 1.6 million > American children slept in a homeless shelter or some other form of > emergency housing last year. > > It has become exceedingly clear that “the American Dream” is dying and > that the future is not very bright for “ordinary hard-working Americans”. > I like how Rupert Cornwell described this in one of his recent articles > <http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/america-s-white-working-class-is-dying-and-that-has-disturbing-implications-a6725606.html> > … > > The politicians still prattle on about “helping hard-working Americans” > and “restoring the American dream”. But even as instinctively optimistic a > breed as the Americans now believe they are being sold a bill of goods. > What dream? The reality is that no longer is it a hard-working blue-collar > American’s birthright to live better than his parents. Most probably, he or > she will be worse off. > > You might be one of those Americans that has fallen out of the middle > class and into poverty. > > Even in the midst of this so-called “economic recovery”, large numbers of > formerly middle class Americans are losing their jobs and losing their > homes. And a surprising number of them end up either living in their > vehicles or living in the streets. The following comes from a recent > article by Joshua Krause > <http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-preparedness/surviving-poverty-in-a-van-unlike-the-streets-you-can-maintain-a-decent-standard-of-living_11072015> > … > > On any given night in America, there are over a half a million people > <http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/snapshot_of_homelessness> living on > the streets or in their vehicles. As you can imagine, that’s not a good > place to be in your life, but it happens. If you think that this is > something that might happen to you one day in the near future (and who are > kidding, it could happen to anyone these days) here’s a word of advice: > *Don’t > wait until the last-minute, hoping for that next job interview to come > through as you burn through your savings.* If homelessness is a real > possibility in your life, it’s something that you should be preparing for, > not waiting for. > > The more money you have at your disposal when you decide to leave your > home, the easier your life is going to be without a house. If you have no > money, you’ll be living on the streets with little more than the clothes on > your back. It’s better to put your savings towards a van or a truck that > you can live in. Unlike living on the streets, you can actually maintain a > fairly decent standard of living with very little money. > > When I was growing up, it seemed like just about everyone in my entire > high school was part of the middle class. But things have changed > dramatically in America since that time. Today, the middle class is > being absolutely eviscerated > <http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/goodbye-middle-class-51-percent-of-all-american-workers-make-less-than-30000-dollars-a-year> > > and our “leaders” don’t seem to care. > > So is there a way out of this mess? Tell us what you think by posting a > comment below… > > <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/endoftheamericandream/OFri?a=WUIcrlwrTMg:Er4mNYzitXQ:yIl2AUoC8zA> > > <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/endoftheamericandream/OFri?a=WUIcrlwrTMg:Er4mNYzitXQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ> > > <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/endoftheamericandream/OFri?a=WUIcrlwrTMg:Er4mNYzitXQ:qj6IDK7rITs> > > <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/endoftheamericandream/OFri?a=WUIcrlwrTMg:Er4mNYzitXQ:V_sGLiPBpWU> > > <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/endoftheamericandream/OFri?a=WUIcrlwrTMg:Er4mNYzitXQ:l6gmwiTKsz0> > > You are subscribed to email updates from End Of The American Dream > <http://endoftheamericandream.com>. > To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now > <https://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailunsubscribe?k=PUqP-8wQoWiQt5ehZwMHdhStWfE> > . Email delivery powered by Google Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre > Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States > > >
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