How would you prefer they change it?

Happiness can be studied in a lot of ways, and none of them is complete or accurate. Momentary happiness is possible in a miserable life and vice versa.

I suspect this survey does tell us something over time, if methodology is stable.

I think the "death of despair" stats are a fairly significant marker of overall unhappiness. Look them up.

I don't think this survey tells us anything at all. Happiness is hard to define, personal, and capricious. It's better to not have studies than to have pretend science that people mistake for real science.

Maybe not going bankrupt because of medical expenses as the only first world country with universal healthcare? When it comes to the hierarchy of needs, not dying because of unaffordable or unavailable healthcare I’m sure ranks near the top.

There is no objective measure where the median American is better off than the median European.

I’m saying this as a born and bread American citizen who is fortunate enough to be on the better side of the economic divide.