A poll by Gallup and Healthways found that of all types of workers, those who own their own business tend to be happiest. Professionals were the next happiest. At the bottom, unsurprisingly, were those who worked in services, transportation, or manufacturing.

Interestingly, this same poll, which is collected on a monthly basis, shows that for the entire population, perceptions of well-being jumped considerably this spring particularly in April-- the same time that stimulus spending started. I'll admit this is likely a bit spurious, and improved optimism during this time probably reflected a generally improving economy. Still, I've heard shoddier arguments for and against the effectiveness of stimulus.