The poor are unhappy - the rich are happy !

As the rich get richer and the poor fall further behind, levels of happiness and satisfaction drop, but only among people with modest and lower incomes, a new study shows. But [surprise, surprise] economic inequality does not bother the wealthiest Americans. The richest 20 percent reported that income disparity didn't change their feelings of fairness, trust, or general well-being.

"In general, CEO salary increased tremendously, while that of the average workers hasn't that much," he said in an interview. "Income disparity has grown a lot in the U.S., especially since the 1980s. With that, we've seen a marked drop in life satisfaction and happiness," said Shigehiro Oishi, a psychologist at the University of Virginia. The researchers found that the bigger the disparity in the income gap, the less likely people are to view fellow Americans as fair or honest. This, in turn, leads to a degraded sense of general well-being. "...When people see that some people are really in advantageous and favorable conditions while many of us are not, lack of trust toward the system and toward others naturally emerges."