【Doesmoneybuyhappiness？Not!Ah，butwouldalittlemoremoneymakeusalittlehappier？Manyofussmirk（傻笑，假笑）andnod．Thereis，webelieve，someconnectionbetweenfinancialfitnessandemotionalfulfillment．ThreeinfourA】

　　Does money buy happiness？Not!Ah，but would a little more money make us a little happier？Many of us smirk（傻笑，假笑） and nod．There is，we believe，some connection between financial fitness and emotional fulfillment．Three in four American college students-nearly double the 1970proportion-now consider it"very important"or"essential"that they become"very well off financially"．Money matters．

　　But a surprising fact of life is that in countries where nearly everyone can afford life's necessities，increasing wealth matters surprisingly little．The connection between income and happiness is"surprisingly weak，"observed University of Michigan researcher Ronald Inglehart in one 16-nation study of 170，000people．Once comfortable，more money provides diminishing returns（报酬递减）．The second piece of pie，or the second﹩100，000，nevertastesasgoodasthefirst．EvenlotterywinnersandtheForbes'100wealthiestAmericanssurveyedbyUniversityofIllinoispsychologistEdDienerhaveexpressedonlyslightlygreaterhappinessthantheaverageAmerican．Makingitbigbringstemporaryjoy．Butinthelongrunwealthislikehealth：itscompleteabsencecancreatesuffering，buthavingitdoesn'tguaranteehappiness．Happinessseemslessamatterofgettingwhatwewantthanofwantingwhatwehave．

　　Hasourhappiness，however，floatedupwardwiththerisingeconomictide？Arewehappiertodaythanin1940s，whentwooutoffivehomeslackedashowerortub？Actually，wearenot．Since1957，thenumberofAmericanswhosaytheyare"veryhappy"hasdeclinedfrom35to32percent．Meanwhile，thedivorceratehasdoubled，theteensuicide（自杀）ratehasincreasednearlythreetimes，theviolentcrimeratehasgoneupnearlyfourtimes，anddepressionhasmushroomed．Economicgrowthhasprovidednoboosttohumanmorale．Whenitcomestopsychologicalwellbeing，itisnottheeconomy．

　　Icallthissoaringwealthandshrinkingspirit"theAmericanparadox．"Morethanever，wehavebighousesandbrokenhomes，highincomesandlowconfidence，securedrightsandreducedcivility．Wearegoodatmakingalivingbutoftenfailatmaking