New Report Lists Top 10 Happiest Countries In The World

[Simon]

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says people in Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands are the most content with their lives. The three ranked first, second and third, respectively, in the OECD's rankings of "life satisfaction," or happiness.

There are myriad reasons, of course, for happiness: health, welfare, prosperity, leisure time, strong family, social connections and so on. But there is another common denominator among this group of happy people: taxes.

Northern Europeans pay some of the highest taxes in the world. Danes pay about two-thirds of their income in taxes.

Read the whole story: MarketWatch

[Simon]

I am happy to pay high taxes as I know I will get something meaningful in return. But also because I know it helps poor, unemployed, sick and old people. I would never want to live in a cold and cruel society, such as USA, that only cares about the rich and successful.

In Sweden we have political parties that successfully go to election promising to raise our taxes even more. And in the next Swedish election I will vote for one of those parties. Because if we raise our taxes we will be able to invest more in the public sector, e.g. get better health care, schools and stronger environmental regulations and investments.

And yes. I do believe that high taxes and happiness are very much related. If you don't have to worry about becoming unemployed or being able to afford education or health care you will live a happier and less stressful life.