Why shopping doesn't make you happy

Here's a nice article on how buying stuff doesn't make you happy, but playing with it does. Unfortunately these days in the USA the more we spend the harder we work to keep spending which leaves less time for actually playing. In Europe and other countries they have it a better - although their workers have lower productivity and less disposable income than American workers, they also have more leisure time and hence play time leading to higher quality of life. Just ask any German how they would feel about cutting down from six weeks of vacation a year to just two.