The Luckiest People

Columnist Nicholas Kristof has a disappointing op/ed up this week; disappointing at its intellectually vacuity. Apparently fresh off a limousine liberal lollygag to Central America, Kristof writes about Costa Ricans as "the happiest people." ("The Happiest People" - NYTimes.com). No offense intended to Costa Ricans or Costa Rica, but "the luckiest people" would be more accurate. From the article:

In truth, the people of Costa Rica: "Cross-country comparisons of happiness are controversial and uncertain. But what does seem quite clear is that Costa Rica’s national decision to invest in education rather than arms has paid rich dividends. Maybe the lesson for the United States is that we should devote fewer resources to shoring up foreign armies and more to bolstering schools both at home and abroad.

I guess it's not relevant to Kristof's thesis if a country has an abundance of beautiful weather and beaches to boost her economy (I think that is referred to as a "natural monopoly")? Not to mention a freedom-loving, sovereignty-backing military super power slightly to your north?

Education is certainly crucial to a civilization, and kudos to Costa Rica for what its got going on, and I'm glad that Kristof enjoyed his Christmas holidays, but this op/ed is either stupid or disingenuous.