Eat Hot Dogs; Be Happy (But Maybe not Too Happy)

The dismal science is often good for coming up with interesting statistics. Irwin Stelzer says that we ate 150 million hot dogs over the holiday weekend and that 94% of Americans report that they are satisfied with their lives. He doesn't imply a causal relationship, however.

In between reporting these two statistics, Stelzer gives his favorable assessment of the economy, including his hopeful expectations of all the entrepreneurial activity he sees. I suppose we cannot assume that entrepreneurs are so self-satisfied, however -- nor should we hope that they become so, if their restless energy provides all the good that Stelzer says it does.