U.S. drops to #23 in World Happiness Rankings

By Robert A. Vella

According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, the United States dropped from #12 to #23 in its World Happiness Rankings from 2013 to 2014 (see:  Panama Leads the World Again in Overall Well-Being, as Revealed in New Report).

Since the turn of the new millennium, America has seen dramatic increases in several disturbing socioeconomic trends which have triggered rising public distrust in the nation’s institutions.  Social stratification caused by growing wealth inequality, demise of the middle class, crisis in the educational system, political polarization and dysfunction, police militarization, the reemergence of racial discrimination and xenophobia, corporatization and the systematic destruction of democracy, and the continuance of imperialistic foreign policies and war, have all contributed to this worsening disconnect between the establishment and the populace.

The Gallup survey results seem to reflect this negative mood in the American public.

Further reading:  US Falls in World Happiness Rankings