In Response to Chris Hill

Are you happy with this change in business or do you prefer to go out and do your shopping, banking, or socializing? 

 The way business, shopping, and socializing is done this day and age is being able to do it as fast and efficiently possible. It seems that every year a new product or service comes out that is somehow faster and operates differently then before. I like and dislike the way things are becoming with technology and relying on computers in order to operate. It is much more convenient to be able to get everything you need done just at home and not going through a hassle, but at the same time i miss the days where not everyone was attached to there computers or cell phones. Today if your without a phone or computer you are completely out of the loop and it makes it almost impossible to be able to contact anyone. It is pretty crazy to think about how much we have developed technologically in just ten years. In 2001 the i pod just came out now we are developing into a world where the internet operates through everything and the expansion of 3d tv's and video games has exploded. When I saw a computer competing on Jeopardy the other day I really thought about how times have changed and what the future holds for us. Its scary to be relying on something that could crash one day so heavily, but I don't see technology slowing down anytime soon. Is technology moving in the right direction?

Money and Happiness

There have been many arguments and studies about whether money can buy happiness or not but there still has not been a set conclusion. This article http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2016291,00.html talked about a resent analysis that was done about the subject. The results of 450,000 participants being asked questions about there overall happiness and there income showed that $75,000 a year was the benchmark of enjoyment for there lives. I don't necessarily agree with this because there are plenty of people out there that do not make that much money and still go about there lives happily because of other factors that have a bigger impact then income like being healthy, having a family, or just being lucky enough to have a roof over there head everyday. Our society in America definitely has become one of class and because of that people feel they are always in a position to try and out perform others. This is a problem that some other countries do not deal with and that is part of the reason why studies have shown that were not the happiest country in the world. We may be the most powerful and one of the most prosperous, but that doesn't account for being healthy and other key essentials to living a happy life. I believe that money can buy happiness in the short term but when it comes to long term overall happiness money can only take you so far. The reasons that higher income can bring short term enjoyment is because you will have enough expendable cash to do what makes them feel good instead of dwelling on what is upsetting them. Money can make you feel really good and powerful, but cannot supply a person with what emotionally makes people happy in the long term like family, friends, and less stress. I have noticed that sometimes the wealthiest people are the most stressed because of not having the basic necessities to be happy. It is easy to hide how you really feel behind a lot of money but when it comes down to it there are more important things to worry about besides trying to get to that $75,000 a year. Do you think that money and happiness relate to each other?