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Jun 4, 2008

"Character is the basis of happiness and happiness the sanction of character." --George Santayana

Dow Jones Average of Well Being

Staying healthy and happy is a struggle for about half of Americans, according to a massive survey that attempts to measure the nation's general welfare, much like the Dow Jones Industrial Average portrays the health of the stock market. "There's never been anything quite like it," said Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize winner in economic sciences. "You're getting details about what it's like to live in this country. What is the experience of the weekend? What is the experience of the weekday for someone who is sick and has to go to work in the morning? We are going to learn a great deal about what are the determinants of actual happiness."