March 20 is the United Nations' International Day of Happiness. 

3月20日是联合国国际幸福日。 

For many years, northern European countries, especially Finland, have been named among the happiest countries on Earth. The United States has never made it into the top 10. 

多年来，北欧国家，尤其是芬兰，一直被评为地球上最幸福的国家之一。美国从未进入过前十名。 

But California state lawmaker Anthony Rendon is hoping he can do something about happiness in the most populous American state. 

但加利福尼亚州议员安东尼·伦登希望他能为这个美国人口最多的州的幸福做点什么。 

In his free time, Rendon likes to stay away from the workplace and spend time with his 4-year-old daughter at his home near Los Angeles. Recently, he took her ice skating and to an indoor play area. He said those are the “things that make me happy.” 

在空闲时间，伦登喜欢远离工作场所，在洛杉矶附近的家中与 4 岁的女儿共度时光。最近，他带她滑冰，去了室内游乐区。他说这些是“让我快乐的事情”。 

As one of the longest-serving leaders in the California legislature, Rendon is now trying to make happiness more central to policymaking in his last year in office. He created a first-in-the-nation group to study the issue of happiness. The group is called the Select Committee on Happiness and Public Policy Outcomes. 

作为加州立法机关任职时间最长的领导人之一，伦登现在正努力让幸福在他任期的最后一年中成为政策制定的核心。他创建了一个全国首个研究幸福问题的小组。该小组被称为幸福和公共政策成果特别委员会。 

Rendon said it would be “silly” for lawmakers to not study how they can make people happier. “Because if we have everybody clothed, everybody housed, everybody has a job and they’re miserable, then we’ve failed at what we’re trying to do,” he said. 

伦登表示，立法者如果不研究如何让人们更幸福，那将是“愚蠢的”。“因为如果我们让每个人都有衣服穿，每个人都有住处，每个人都有工作，但他们都很痛苦，那么我们就失败了，”他说。

In California, three-quarters of adults say they are “very happy” or “pretty happy.” Twenty-six percent say they are “not too happy.” The numbers come from a September 2023 study by the Public Policy Institute of California. The study also says Californians without a post-high school degree and those who earn less money are generally less happy than those with more education and more money. 

在加利福尼亚州，四分之三的成年人表示他们“非常快乐”或“相当快乐”。百分之二十六的人表示他们“不太高兴”。这些数字来自加州公共政策研究所 2023 年 9 月的一项研究。该研究还表示，没有高中以上学历的加州人和收入较少的人通常比那些受过更多教育、有更多钱的人更不快乐。 

The idea of considering happiness in public policy is not new. 

在公共政策中考虑幸福的想法并不新鲜。 

The South Asian nation of Bhutan sets happiness as a goal of its public policy. The country asks its people about their level of happiness for what is called the Gross National Happiness Index. Officials then work to increase happiness by providing citizens with free health care and education. They also work to protect things like cultural traditions and the country’s forests. 

南亚国家不丹将幸福作为其公共政策的目标。该国询问其人民的幸福水平，即所谓的国民幸福指数。然后，官员们努力通过为公民提供免费医疗保健和教育来增加幸福感。他们还致力于保护文化传统和国家森林等。 

Phuntsho Norbu is consul general of Bhutan to the United States. Norbu said the government cannot make every person happy. But he said the government should “create the right conditions” to help people find happiness. 

平措诺布 (Phuntsho Norbu) 是不丹驻美国总领事。诺布说，政府不可能让每个人都幸福。但他表示，政府应该“创造适当的条件”来帮助人们找到幸福。 

In California, lawmakers recently heard from experts about the things that make people happy and how public officials can support people’s happiness. 

在加利福尼亚州，立法者最近听取了专家关于让人们幸福的事情以及公职人员如何支持人们幸福的建议。

Meliksah Demir is a professor of happiness at California State University, Sacramento. Demir said research shows that leisure activities, social relationships and life situations affect a person’s happiness. He added that public officials can help by investing in mental health resources, adding green spaces and teaching about the value of happiness early on in schools. 

梅利克萨·德米尔 (Meliksah Demir) 是加州州立大学萨克拉门托分校的幸福学教授。德米尔说，研究表明休闲活动、社会关系和生活状况会影响一个人的幸福感。他补充说，公职人员可以通过投资心理健康资源、增加绿色空间以及在学校早期教授幸福的价值来提供帮助。 

Rendon said California is behind many parts of the world in looking at happiness in policymaking. He said he wanted to create the happiness committee after seeing a yearly report on happiness by the United Nations. 

伦登说，在政策制定中关注幸福感方面，加州落后于世界许多地区。他说，在看到联合国关于幸福的年度报告后，他想成立幸福委员会。 

Last year’s happiness report said that the way people view the effectiveness of government can influence their happiness. The United States was 15th in the world happiness ranking based on a three-year average from 2020 to 2022. Scandinavian countries, including Finland and Iceland, ranked the highest. 

去年的幸福报告称，人们对政府有效性的看法会影响他们的幸福感。根据2020年至2022年三年的平均值，美国在世界幸福排名中排名第15位。包括芬兰和冰岛在内的斯堪的纳维亚国家排名最高。 

Kristina Bas Hamilton is a long-time labor supporter in California. “Government’s role is to provide for its people,” Bas Hamilton said. “The goal is to have happy citizens. That’s the goal of all public policy.” 

克里斯蒂娜·巴斯·汉密尔顿 (Kristina Bas Hamilton) 是加利福尼亚州的长期劳工支持者。“政府的作用是为人民提供服务，”巴斯·汉密尔顿说。“我们的目标是拥有幸福的公民。这是所有公共政策的目标。”