Are you happy?

Chancs are…you probably aren’t.

That’s because according to a new study by “24-7 Wall Street” that looked into the OECD’s Better Life Index to determine what the happiest nations on the planet are…the US didn’t even crack the top 10.

We're not even in the top 10 of happiest countries.

The study examined quality of life things like health - education - housing - the environment - jobs - community - work-life balance - and income to figure out what truly makes a nation happy.

So let’s take a look at the top 5 happiest nations on Earth - all of them WAY happier than we are here in the United States - and as you’ll see…for good reason!

At number five….the Netherlands. 91% of people living in the Netherlands say they are satisfied with their lives - the highest rating anywhere in the world. That might be because Dutch citizens spend on average 70% of their day NOT working - but instead on personal care - leisure activities - eating - and sleeping. That’s more than 16 hours a day.

How much time do you spend every day doing that sort of stuff??

At number four…Australia. 71% of the citizens in the “land down under” trust their political institutions.

Here in the US - only 40% of us trust our government - one of the lowest ratings in the developed world.

Also - 96% of Australians are polled to be in good health.

But in the US where we spend more on health care than any other nation - only 88% of Americans are in good health.

Looks like someone is getting gyped.

At number three…Norway. People tend to be pretty happy when they have a job - and in Norway - a lot of people have jobs. Only .34% of the population has been out of work for more than a year - that’s one of the best ratings of all the OECD nations.

The US percentage of people unemployed for more than a year is 8 times higher.

And even though they are well-employed - the average Norwegian only works about 27 hours a week - just 27 hours.

In the US - we work on average 34 hours a week - that’s more than one hour longer each workday.

At number two…our neighbor to the North - Canada. Canada has the 10th highest life expectancy in the developed world.

Far better than the United States - which is ranked 26th in the world.

Maybe those “socialists” are on to something up there.

Plus - Canada boasts the third highest literacy rate in the world - while the US ranks 14th.

So how much longer until Canada has to close ITS southern border to keep Americans from pouring over looking for a happier life?

And at number one…the happiest nation on the planet…Denmark. For several years now - in study after study - Denmark has found itself atop the list of happiest nation on Earth. When it comes to a sense of community - Denmark has the best marks in the world - with 97% of the population saying they have someone other than a family member that they can count on when in need. And isn't that what makes happiness - friends and community?

After all it’s not having a bunch of money in your pocket because Denmark - not so coincidentally - also has the highest income tax rate of all OECD nations. Also in Denmark - women are guaranteed a full year of maternity leave.

Maybe time to plan a summer vacation to see just how the Danes do it.

So there you have it - the top 5 happiest nations on the planet - all of them far happier than we are here in the United States.

So what do all these nations have in common that make them so happy?

For one - universal healthcare.

When you don’t have to worry about going bankrupt just because you got sick - and don’t have to worry about leaving a dead-end job because you’ll lose your health insurace…then there’s a lot more room to be happy.

But there’s a bigger picture here - a more profound reason why these nations are all happier than America.

And that is…they all have some sort of publicly financed elections. They all have told their corporate CEOs and billionaires to get the hell out of their politics. They’ve affirmed that their elections belong to the commons - just like their healthcare - their education - and their environment

And as long as elections belong in the commons - the corporations can’t buy them r at least pervert them with their deep pockets. All of these happy nations boast some of the highest voter turnouts in the world.

But here in the United States - Republicans are trying to kill the last vestiges of public elections by defunding the public funding of Presidential elections.

And thanks to Supreme Court decisions that have given rise to SuperPACs and allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts in our elections - publicly financed elections are largely extinct now-a-days anyway.

Our lawmakers now have to devote 4 hours aday to making phone calls and attending fundraisers just to accumulate enough corporate cash to run again for office next year. And that corporate cash they get comes with strings attached.

That’s why over here - our poliies seem to be geared toward corporate welfare in the form of big oil subsidies - big Wall Street bailouts - and big tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.

Whereas over there - in happier nations - their policies are geared toward helping the working class - the majority of people who vote - through government investments in education - healthcare - and labor.

The happy nations spend far more of their GDP on social programs than we do here in America.

So even though we seem to get a lot of enjoyment out of our badly corrupted political system and what corporate shills like Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney are doing and which team will win...our corporate-owned politics are ACTUALLY making us very unhappy.

It's the one thing standing in the way of Americans finally achieving the happiness they hope for.

What's the point of being exceptional - as Ronald Reagan would describe America - if that exceptionality doesn't make us happy?

Until we fix our elections - and kick the corporate millionaires and billionaires out - and claim once and for all that our democracy belongs to We The People - that it's part of the commons - then we'll always be stuck in the muck wondering if this...is as good as it gets.

That's The Big Picture.