... among ordinary people and not to just a few uber-wealthy sociopaths.

With a few tweaks to our tax system the U.S.A. could have this too.

Instead we live in an oligarchy, and worse, in a nation with rampant racism. Even working class racists, who are brutalized under the current economic system, do not want certain classes of people to have a fair share of the economy.

It's an illusion that Sweden is as wealthy.

They have a high cost of living society with a strong currency, so their nominal GDP is high. But they can't afford the same goods as us. We are more productive.

GDP USA 54152, Sweden 57297

However, a real comparison is what you can buy with that money. That's called purchasing power parity (PPP)

GDP (PPP) USA 54152 Sweden 40870

As you can see, while translating Swedish production into dollars might make it appear that they're wealthier, we are actually significantly materially wealthier.

And you can see this if you ever visit Europe. Their homes are smaller, older, have fewer features, and they have less stuff. Not working as much comes at a cost.

ps I typed this on a phone, so forgive the errors

we need more phones, better phones. that's what makes life great. I saw it on tv..read it on the internet.
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sarcasm/ something else
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sort of seriously... if one does not work as much as asked, requested/offered..... one might not work at all

Just trying to dispel the Team Sweden stuff. Their nice things come at a cost, just like every other country.

The question is, what are we willing to trade? Most Americans are pretty attached to their big houses and gadgets.

many Americans were attached to the houses they couldn't afford...and lost them
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they were sold a dream they couldn't afford.
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consumerism

the good citizens of America, despite living in McMansions, surrounded by luxury goods,
don't even get into the top 10. ( We're 17th) Look at the countries who do top the list.
The whole of Scandinavia ranks at the top year after year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report

and more recently:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/20/travel/happiest-countries-to-visit/

Sweden's only comparable trait to the US is that it's a sovereign state.

But really, when compared to the US, it's more like Massachusetts. The US is a federation of states, so it's more comparable to the EU or eurozone. Sweden is a small country in a wealthy region of the EU. The EU (like the US) also has poor regions, like southern Italy, Greece and southern Spain.

Actually I didn't come up with this thought originally, it was an Austrian who put Scandinavia in perspective for me. It's like someone from the Bay Area criticizing Alabama for not living like Silicon Valley. They have it all figured out, after all.

It would be more accurate to compare happiness levels in Sweden to our happiest states, since it's really just a small, happy state itself in a European community.

not political subdivisions or what constitutes a country or just a state.

It's the people in these "regions" who say they are happy.
Things like health care, education, GMO free foods and environmental protections
are far more important to them than fancy cars and big houses.
These countries don't spend half their resources on weapons of war, they spend it on the citizens.

The US is a house deliberately divided.
The new owners want it that way.

Who do you think is happier, a lower income service worker in Sweden or a lower income service worker in Silicon Valley?

For most people Silicon Valley and the Bay Area are not happy places to live. For an income that would seem generous in much of the U.S.A. the housing is either substandard or downright dangerous. If you are not making an excellent income then you'll probably be working two jobs.

And the work environment there for most people, poor to wealthy, is extremely high pressure.

U.S. citizens are supposed to be "competitive" and thrive in a high pressure work environment or they are considered to be weaklings of some sort. That's bullshit. Fuck that kind of "wealth" and "productivity."

It ought to be against the law to work more than thirty six hours a week, or work without health benefits. (A good reason for single payer, right?) For people who simply must work longer, say for limited sorts of catastrophes, there ought to be steeply progressive overtime pay for longer hours. Most salaried and 1099 worker scams ought to be eliminated.

That's how you make people happy. Our high pressure consumer society blows chunks. What we call "productivity" is in fact the destruction of earth's natural environment and the crushing of the human spirit.

The Scandinavian countries are happier because of their higher taxes, stricter labor regulations, and greater social welfare benefits, not in spite of them. The same filthy crowd that is sucking the life out of the U.S.A. is quite busy there now trying to convince workers that the have to do more work for less income and social benefits, all for the greater profit of a few.