Gross Domestic Happiness?

In a speech to Cambridge economists and statisticians on Monday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested that we radically alter the way we evaluate economic recovery.  Instead of focusing on traditional indicators like the unemployment rate, consumer spending, and inflation, Bernanke argued that we need to expand our definitions and measure people's happiness.

Bernanke stated that by looking only to financial and other traditional metrics, we take a myopic view on “economy,” which really should be a measure of well-being amongst a society.  Money, especially on an aggregate level, does not accurately reflect people’s satisfaction in life.  And a decreasing unemployment rate does not automatically correspond with an increase in quality-of-life.  

Consequently, Bernanke insisted, policy-makers need to expand their scope and make decisions with the end goal of increasing people’s happiness, rather than just their pocketbooks.  

Go Directly to Jail: Do Not Pass Go, But Do Collect Healthcare

This is kind of one of those “WTF” stories about which I feel compelled to comment:

"Bank Robber Planned Crime and Punishment."

Before I begin, I should note that this happened several months ago, but, akin to my obsession with Mad Men or love affair with Miley Cyrus, I am a little behind the times on current events and trends. I am, however, TOTALLY up-to-date on aimless internet browsing, which is how I found about about this.

To continue, this past June, in North Carolina, James Richard Verone planned and executed a $1 bank robbery with the intention that he would be incarcerated.  Laid-off from his job of 17 years, suffering from chronic pain, unable to afford healthcare, and denied disability insurance, Verone planned his imprisonment so that he might finally be able to obtain much-needed healthcare that had been denied to him through traditional means.  

In this country, we are loathe to view healthcare as a basic human right.  In fact, we are the only industrialized nation that does not have a universal healthcare system.  This is due, in large part, to  a market culture which views healthcare as a commodity—something which is bought and sold, can accrue profit,  and the cost of which is determined by basic laws of supply and demand, however manipulated those are.   Through Verone’s case, one sees that the only way to access healthcare as a right in this country is to become part of the penal system.   Let me just say, I find it deeply ironic and symptomatic of an unjust society that a citizen gains rights by virtue of being a prisoner. Yet this is the trajectory America has been on for many years, as social welfare, which, by definition, ensures the dignity and well-being of persons, has all-but collapsed (or, as in the case of healthcare, was never properly developed in the first place).