Opinion | How Can America Be So Miserable When It’s So Rich? - The New York Times – This is a brilliant essay. It cuts to the core of the problem of American dissatisfaction.

Wealth always tempts us to be discontent. We’re cursed with that insatiable desire for more. We’re prone to envy. There is a reason we talk about keeping up with the Joneses.

But what if the Joneses inadvertently also make it hard to keep up? What if their sheer economic power changes our communities so much that we’re priced out of our doctors, our homes, our sports and many, many other things we need or want?