Decaflon

All of my solidly liberal friends are well off financially and tend to be VERY grumpy, but I don't know if that stems from their money or their liberalism or whatever.

I'd say I'm pretty happy. Obviously hard times don't make you happy all the time but I'm not a pessimist.

That's interesting, Ozone. I can see how the results of that story came about. (For clarification's sake, I was born into a very politically conservative family as the youngest one - last child - yet I myself am way to the left of they politically.)

The key words to me were "psychological buffer" that conservatives have, generally, I think. There's less of a burden carried by the right psychologically because they figure there is a reason why, and they've earned or not earned their spot. As for the term meritocracy, I guess I would have qualms with that because how can you produce value that competes when you start with nothing (and others start with everything)? There's a differing, beginning situation that everyone has.

What you described in Texas seems the opposite - definitely could be explained by our opposing landscapes! The head family of my company is Republican...and so are the others who make the most money. They care about taxes. Me - I am not independently wealthy and neither are my friends (we do what we can to barely get by in a metro area like Los Angeles) but we are all Democratic party supporters. More "paycheck-to-paycheck" if you will, like you said. :)

It's hard for me to get everything out of a Sci America without reading the full context. But the site the NYU study, (Why are Conservatives Happier than Liberals) is publicly posted at, titled
"The Palliative Function of Conservative Ideology" says it some of it.

The ideology of conservatives acts as a buffer. "System Justifying beliefs, and the endorsement of a fairly wide range of rationalizations of current social economic, and political institutions and
arrangements."

If you haven't read the whole thing it might be worth it.

My family rather large and extended inhibiting several continents are basically liberal, with a few more conservative types thrown in. Overall their happiness level seems pretty high. Admittedly most of them are not hurting financially, which may have some affect.

I am personally happy, but often sad and disappointed in the ways of the world. I am liberal by most accounts.

how can you produce value that competes when you start with nothing

Value doesn't come from your parents' fortunes, the neighborhood you grew up in, or your past 5 generations. Certainly, some have a lot more advantages than others but I see those advantages squandered quite a bit more often than actually used to any effect. Yes, even squandering an inheritance tends to give one a comfortable life, but a comfortable life does not mean that you are creating value. How many great artists have died long before their works became appreciated? How many night time tinkerers are we still benefiting from today? Garage bands? Starving authors and poets? All it takes is passion, and a bit of focus and we can do extraordinary things.

It is true that often value is not recognized for what it is. Often bright people never break through a socio-economic barrier to become truly well known or influential. Those trends are much more complicated than upbringing or privilege. Exempting cases of outright bigotry or misogyny, anyone with sufficient drive can be successful--perhaps not enormously so. I tend to believe that it's possible even in the most adverse conditions. It may not be likely, but I tend to believe in individuals far more than circumstance. Of course, I can only speak from my own experiences. I've never been at rock bottom.

But, I tend to be an economic conservative and social liberal. So maybe I have this optimism and "fight-the-odds" spirit because of that?

Rich people are happier.
Rich people are often more likely to be conservative.

What is that, the commutative property? If a=b and b=c than a=c?

By what method did you formulate the rich people are happier.

I know several people who make 6 figure incomes and are ALWAYS complaining about how miserable they are and I know people who don't have a care in the world and struggle to pay their utility bills from time to time.

By a study that came out a few months ago. I think it's posted somewhere here, in fact.

Edit: Quick link from Freakonomics.