It is, sadly, a very common opinion - if I have the right to pursuit of happiness, the government must provide me with my happiness. Ironically, after a century of bigger and bigger government, the citizens' confidence in the said government and its ability to provide anything resembling happiness has eroded considerably - as the author of the article notices. Even more ironically, the author absolutely fails to make this link, and complains the government doesn't intervene enough to provide the happiness to the people.