I just want to thank you for your insightful article on whether economic equality buys happiness. I grew up in a housing project in South Boston at a time when it was one of the poorest places in the country. My neighbors were dependent on welfare. They were the most unhappy people I have ever encountered . . . mean, hostile, empty and always looking at any situation in the worst possible way. The prevailing feeling was of being victimized and short-changed. Welfare took the life and spirit out of them. The few who believed in themselves were the ones who got out of the projects and created a better standard of living for their families. They didn't begrudge others who were more successful. On the contrary they were inspired and motivated by their achievement. You are right that envy being one of the deadly sins, is not something to base policy on.

"As Thomas Jefferson wrote in an early draft of the American Declaration of Independence (before he changed 'property' to the more noble-sounding 'happiness'), everyone was equal in 'the pursuit of property.' Jefferson and other liberals certainly did not expect equal success in that pursuit. Great differences in wealth and income between rich and poor were perfectly acceptable to liberals [of that time]. The essential point was that everyone should legally have an equal chance."
—A History of World Societies, 5th edition, McKay, Hill, Buckler & Ebrey, pp. 715-716.