Blanchflower also studies happiness and points out that being poor in America often leads to stress, insecurity and hopelessness. In "Unhappiness and Pain in Modern America," he and his co-author, Andrew J. Oswald of the University of Warwick, probe the disquieting idea that not only are Americans in greater pain than citizens of other countries, but that self-reported levels of happiness are falling.
The U.S. will hold a presidential election in 2020. We should be hearing a lot more about underemployment and its harmful consequences in the coming campaign. If we don't, that points to something even more problematic about the state of America.
This column was provided by Bloomberg News.