Money No Guarantee of Happiness

In an article on a better life in the 1980’s, Dr. Joyce Brothers explained that money can “buy happiness” only in that it can pay for necessities such as food and clothing. She added:

“A person with an income of $100,000 may be more comfortable, better dressed, and live better than someone with an income of $20,000, but he will not be significantly happier.

“The man or woman earning $20,000 a year will probably raise an eyebrow at this, but the facts are that a modestly adequate income does make for happiness and that great sums of money rarely do.

“Money is a delusion. It can also be a snare, a trap to prevent you from reaching your most cherished goals. . . . Money is a means to an end, not an end in itself.”​—New York “Post,” January 21, 1980.

In confirmation of this the same paper, on March 16, 1979, said the following: “The latest census tabulations indicate that of the 50,000-70,000 suicides that take place yearly in this country, almost 80 per cent are committed by persons whose incomes are in the higher brackets. Most definitely suffer from some mild to severe depressive illness that has gone undiagnosed.”