Instigator / Pro
billbatard's avatar
14
billbatard
1294
rating
75
debates
18.0%
won
Topic
#1480

Money cant buy happiness

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
3
6
Better sources
6
6
Better legibility
3
3
Better conduct
2
3

After 3 votes and with 4 points ahead, the winner is...

AvoidDeath
Tags
Philosophy
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
2
Time for argument
Two days
Max argument characters
10,000
Voting period
One week
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
AvoidDeath's avatar
18
AvoidDeath
1528
rating
11
debates
59.09%
won
Description

one cannot buy inner peace or love with material stuff

Round 1
billbatard's avatar
billbatard
Pro
#1
there are lots of poor people that are happy there are many rich people that are suicidal  the happiest nations are not necessarily the richest ones i take that as proof or my point  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzPZSzGVWSE
AvoidDeath's avatar
AvoidDeath
Con
#2
thanks billbatard, I am pretty time constrained, so sorry for the short arguments.

0.1-Defintions
Happiness- the act of being happy
Money-Currency

0.2 Burden of Proof.
It's on you.
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I. Real World Scenarios-

Let's say your homeless. Your grandpa is about to die. Your grandma is dead. Your parents are rich, but they refuse to give you any money. You are about to kill yourself because you are depressed. Then, cousin Popo found a million dollars on the ground. He gives it to you. According to the logic "Money Can't Buy Happiness". You would say something on the lines of "Fuck it, I'm still sad." then shoot yourself. But, in reality, you would be so happy. This is one case where money makes people happy.

II. Logic.
I will ask PRO, and voters, what was the original point of money? It was to trade goods in a more efficient way. And why would people want to trade goods in a more efficient way? To make them happy. Money=happiness.

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REBUTTALS
there are lots of poor people that are happy there are many rich people that are suicidal  the happiest nations are not necessarily the richest ones i take that as proof or my point
I suppose that even if there are "lots of poor people that are happy", the suicide rate for poor people is higher than for rich people. The happiest nation, Finland (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-happiest-countries-united-nations-2019/index.html), has a population that an average individual makes 3300 euros a month. That's about 39600 euros or 43481 USD per year. According to https://news.gallup.com/poll/166211/worldwide-median-household-income-000.aspx, Finland has a higher median household and per-capita income. Finland is happy and rich, therefore disproving your statement.
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Back to bill...
Round 2
billbatard's avatar
billbatard
Pro
#3
people starving n concentration camps in ww2 were pretty miserable i will grant you, and many poor people who come to the USA and make their fortunes are very happy, i accept this people on the extremes of poverty obviously a not happy

My sole point is there are nations full of people who have very little in the way of material goods but lead casual happy lives and then there are people in places like say singapore that are very rich where the people are so unhappy because all they do is work

for example At 29 hours, the Netherlands has the shortest work week in the world and a national employment average of 76%, according to an OECD study. ... With 29-hour work weeks, the Netherlands has the world's shortest week for business professionals, according to an OECD study.Oct 26, 2018
Infographic: This country has the world's shortest work week ...

https://www.techrepublic.com › article › infographic-this-country-has-the-w...  The Netherlands is once again in the top 10 happiest countries in the world. According to the UN World Happiness Report 2018, the Netherlands is the 6th happiest country in the world. The Netherlands also managed to rank in this position last year.Mar 16, 2018
The Netherlands is once again in the top 10 happiest countries

https://www.iamexpat.nl › expat-info › dutch-expat-news › netherlands-once...$51,280

Netherlands gni per capita for 2018 was $51,280, a 9.32% increase from 2017. Netherlands gni per capita for 2017 was $46,910, a 0.02% increase from 2016. Netherlands gni per capita for 2016 was $46,900, a 5.84% decline from 2015.
Netherlands GNI Per Capita 1962-2019 | MacroTrends

https://www.macrotrends.net › countries › NLD › netherlands › gni-per-capita we ee that although the dutch are singificantly less rich than say people in Singapore a nation with a much higher standard of living they are much much happier money can not buy hapiness in the case of the dutch they prefer free toime to be with their families and friends to wealth 
MOM found that Singaporeans worked about 44.9 paid hours a week in 2018. For a typical five-day work week, this equates to almost nine hours of work a day. Still, this figure was 1.4 hours fewer than the average of 46.3 hours of paid work per week in 2008 – which was the highest figure for the decade.Dec 17, 2018
MOM found that Singaporeans worked about 44.9 paid hours a week in 2018. For a typical five-day work week, this equates to almost nine hours of work a day. Still, this figure was 1.4 hours fewer than the average of 46.3 hours of paid work per week in 2008 – which was the highest figure for the decade.Dec 17, 2018

Singapore/GNI per capita

90,570 PPP dollars (2017)
Singapore/GNI per capita

90,570 PPP dollars (2017)  It’s hard to define, measure and compare happiness level.
Suffice to say, Singaporeans are not the most contented people.
Our past successes have become a stumbling block to our happiness level.
As a people we generally believe we deserve more, should have more, and want to have more. https://www.quora.com/How-happy-are-Singaporeans
i present this as evidence that there are people with relatively less that are much happier, without more money, what makes them happy is free time and their families this is one example i can find more

AvoidDeath's avatar
AvoidDeath
Con
#4
Thanks billbatard,
I will begin rebutting your points.
“people starving n concentration camps in ww2 were pretty miserable i will grant you, and many poor people who come to the USA and make their fortunes are very happy, i accept this people on the extremes of poverty obviously a not happy”

Concession. “Poor people who come to the USA and make their fortunes are very happy.” It’s a cause and effect. The poor people made money so they are happy. You have conceded.

“for example At 29 hours, the Netherlands has the shortest work week in the world and a national employment average of 76%, according to an OECD study. ... With 29-hour work weeks, the Netherlands has the world's shortest week for business professionals, according to an OECD study.Oct 26, 2018”

Copied and pasted from your source. The Netherlands has one of the highest GDP per capitas and GNI household incomes in the world. This is also true according to one of the sources you stated.

“Netherlands gni per capita for 2018 was $51,280, a 9.32% increase from 2017. Netherlands gni per capita for 2017 was $46,910, a 0.02% increase from 2016. Netherlands gni per capita for 2016 was $46,900, a 5.84% decline from 2015.
Netherlands GNI Per Capita 1962-2019 | MacroTrends”

That means the Netherlands is very rich and very happy. That also means you once again conceded.

“https://www.macrotrends.net › countries › NLD › netherlands › gni-per-capita we ee that although the dutch are singificantly less rich than say people in Singapore a nation with a much higher standard of living they are much much happier money can not buy hapiness in the case of the dutch they prefer free toime to be with their families and friends to wealth 
MOM found that Singaporeans worked about 44.9 paid hours a week in 2018. For a typical five-day work week, this equates to almost nine hours of work a day. Still, this figure was 1.4 hours fewer than the average of 46.3 hours of paid work per week in 2008 – which was the highest figure for the decade.Dec 17, 2018
MOM found that Singaporeans worked about 44.9 paid hours a week in 2018. For a typical five-day work week, this equates to almost nine hours of work a day. Still, this figure was 1.4 hours fewer than the average of 46.3 hours of paid work per week in 2008 – which was the highest figure for the decade.Dec 17, 2018

Singapore/GNI per capita

90,570 PPP dollars (2017)
Singapore/GNI per capita

90,570 PPP dollars (2017)  It’s hard to define, measure and compare happiness level.
Suffice to say, Singaporeans are not the most contented people.
Our past successes have become a stumbling block to our happiness level.
As a people we generally believe we deserve more, should have more, and want to have more. https://www.quora.com/How-happy-are-Singaporeans”
Copied and pasted, then edited ever so slightly, directly from your source.
Singaporeans are still extremely happy. They are not just a regular nation, but the second most happiest nation in all of Asia (https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-ranked-2nd-happiest-asian-nation-world-happiness-report-023124001.html). Taiwan is the first, and Taiwanese people make a whole lot of money, therefore proving that money buys happiness. 

Thank you voters and PRO for this amazing debate.