Recently there was a fascinating piece on "60 Minutes" about the happiest country in the world. According to a new study, it turns out to be Denmark, of all places. Astounding considering that Denmark is cold for a decent portion of the year and not particularly wealthy in general. The United States, however, ranked 23rd. So why is our country, widely regarded around the world as the top dog, in such happiness turmoil? Here are a few thoughts on the matter.

LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF MORE THINGS. One thing that the study noted was in very stark contrast between Denmark and the U.S. is the pursuit of more stuff. Danes tend to all be in a relatively even class (with some variation, of course). They generally aren't driven by the need to be acquiring bigger and better and more things. Americans, on the other hand, are a consumer-driven society. We always seem to want the newest, best stuff. But ultimately, does that stuff make us any happier? Not according to the study.

FREEDOM DOESN'T MEAN FREE. Sure, we are the freest country in the world. But in other ways, we're absolute slaves. We work 40 plus hours every week and get about two weeks vacation a year. And for what? My wife and I can barely afford a two-bedroom, one bath house in a moderate neighborhood.

Compare that to Denmark, where the average person get six weeks of paid vacation and works 37 hours per week. Students are actually paid to go to school instead of paying for it. New fathers are paid for half a year to stay home with their newborn children. Imagine the family bond that could be formed by actually being able to spend the first six months with your baby and not having to worry about work.

THE POLITICS OF DIVISION. This country is divided right down the middle. One group wants to go one way, and one group wants to go the other. How can anyone be happy if they fundamentally disagree with half the people around them? I wish I had a solution to this one. It's unfortunate. You can't really blame one political party or the other, they are both sadly at fault. But what's clear is that the current state of politics is not working. Something needs to be done, because I for one am sick and tired of being frustrated and let down by our elected officials.

One trend that seemed to emerge from the study, was that capitalist countries which have a wide range of effective social services scored high. Sure, this means higher taxes, but in the end we pay for the services anyway. What's

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