It is one of the great paradoxes of our time: Americans have never been richer, or more negative about the economy.

More people are upper-middle class than ever, and even lower-income Americans are richer by almost every measure compared to previous generations. Yet more than three in five Americans say the economy is not working for them.

Some of this can be explained by the fact that aspects of the economy do not work for a lot of Americans. And some of it is not based on the economy at all.

Economists have puzzled over the relationship between income and happiness for decades. Easterlin's paradox, named for development economist Richard Easterlin, is that wealthier people tend to be........

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