Given how little federal money is involved — just 92 cents per capita supports the NEA and NEH — in those cases where federal support might do some good, is there any harm in that?
The state with the largest student enrollment, California, has suffered a 30% drop in per-capita support.
There was also bad news for Capita, the support services company.
The report ranks countries on six elements: freedom, generosity, healthy life expectancy, GDP per capita, social support and absence of corruption.
The measure is based on real GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy and people's perception of their freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
Explaining why one country is happier than another is a dicey business, but the report cites six significant factors: G.D.P. per capita, social support, life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and corruption levels.
The report bases its ranking on six key variables: gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and freedom from corruption.
In the latest report the Nordic countries lead the way, with Norway, Denmark and Iceland at the top of the list, while the Central African Republic, Burundi and Tanzania lag behind with low scores in GDP per capita, social support and people's freedom to makes life choices.
The report focuses on people's evaluations of their lives and includes wealth (GDP per capita), social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom ("Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your freedom to choose what you do with your life?"), generosity ("Have you donated money to a charity in the past month?"), and government corruption.
The squeeze on state budgets from the great recession of 2008 isn't the only reason for the overall decline in per-capita state support, however.
