ROBERT NICKELSBERG//TIME LIFE PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES
HOW HAPPY
ARE YOU?
izen’s inner life in mind. If an index finds that train travel stresses
people less than driving does, for
instance, funds might shift from
highways to public transportation.
Mostly, it’s too early to gauge
the worth of these efforts. Journalists in Bhutan — the origin
point — note that the eco-component of the country’s GNH index
hasn’t slowed the government’s
push to erect dams expected to
wipe out large habitats for native birds. But in the wake of the
global recession, the promise of
the experiment still captivates
cities, states and countries who
want to try their chances.
In an op-ed for The Huffington Post, Santa Monica mayor
Pam O’Connor named the target. “Wellbeing is not to be confused with wellness,” she wrote.
It is “a state characterized by a
person’s level of fulfillment, engagement, satisfaction, positive
outlook, and health.” Track those
levels, she asserted, and “good
governance” is more possible.
In the case of the 14-year-old
boy, for instance, what if his
distress started as early as preschool? Santa Monica’s first
iteration of the index, a Youth
Wellness Report Card inspired di-
HUFFINGTON
04.28.13
President Obama created a
panel last March to routinely
track “subjective wellbeing,”
and no one seemed to notice.
rectly by the fatalities, found that
only one-third of its youngest
residents were prepared to start
school. Readiness was defined
by a range of tests, measuring a
child’s ability to hold a pencil,
mix with other kids and so on.
“You’d think in a community
like Santa Monica, we’d have a
very large number of kids ready
for kindergarten,” city manager
Julie Rusk told The Huffington
Former
King Jigme
Singye
Wangchuck
of Bhutan
coined the
concept
of Gross
National
Happiness.