1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:05,480 Speaker 1: Dan Mitchison as our US correspondent Dan Grevening. There, Hey, 2 00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: good to have you. The United States fell to its 3 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:11,799 Speaker 1: lowest happiness ranking, partly due to a rise in the 4 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: number of Americans eating their meals alone. This is quite 5 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:16,320 Speaker 1: a sad story. 6 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:18,439 Speaker 2: Well it is, But you know what, I kind of 7 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 2: enjoy doing that myself, So I don't know why that 8 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 2: would make so many people happy. I guess it just 9 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 2: depends whether or not you're an introvert or an extrovert. 10 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 2: But you're right, I mean, apparently the highest we've ever 11 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 2: come in since this was started back in twenty twelve 12 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 2: was number eleven. Finland is number one. You guys came 13 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 2: in twelve, And I know there's always a competition with 14 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:37,680 Speaker 2: that other country across the ditch, and I hate to 15 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,559 Speaker 2: say it, but Australia beat you by one place. This year. 16 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 2: They came in number eleven, and Afghanistan, which I guess 17 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:48,520 Speaker 2: is no surprise, ranked as the unhappiest country in the world. 18 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 2: But you know what, I think, Ryan is kind of interesting. 19 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 2: How they did this was basically they asked one hundred 20 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 2: thousand people in one hundred and forty countries to think 21 00:00:57,680 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 2: of a ladder, you know, like we go up and 22 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 2: down with the best possible life for them being a 23 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 2: ten and the worst being a zero, and then the 24 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 2: respondents were asked to rate their own current lives on 25 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 2: a scale. But I mean it doesn't seem very scientific. 26 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:11,040 Speaker 2: I mean, we could all be having a great day 27 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 2: when somebody asks us, you know, to rate our life, 28 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 2: or it could be a really sucky day. 29 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: That is a good point. Donald Trump's issould speaking of 30 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: psachy day is not a great one if you're in 31 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: the Department of Education. He's issued an executive order to 32 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 1: terminate it. 33 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 2: Well he has. We're going to see how far this 34 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,639 Speaker 2: gets because getting rid of the Department of Education entirely 35 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 2: would require an Act of Congress and that would take 36 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 2: some time. So as you can imagine the union that's 37 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:39,760 Speaker 2: representing all these employees and the educators seeing they're outraged. 38 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 2: He has said that the department is basically wasteful. There's 39 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 2: a lot of liberals there. This was created back and 40 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 2: I think it was nineteen seventy nine. So is there 41 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 2: a waste in this department? Well, yeah, you can guarantee 42 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 2: there is. I mean, what does it do a lot? Though? 43 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 2: I mean it provides financial aid programs, a lot of 44 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 2: funding to support elementary and secondary schools over here, and 45 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 2: does a lot of civil rights work. So there's going 46 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 2: to be a continued debate I think, from both the 47 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 2: left and the right on this. Will it happen? Hard 48 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 2: to imagine the department going away completely? But will it 49 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 2: be downsized? Could it be downsized? I think there's a 50 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:12,800 Speaker 2: better possibility of that. 51 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 1: Yes, Interesting Dan, What about these astronauts. We've heard all 52 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: about them coming back to out of space back to Earth, 53 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,639 Speaker 1: which is great news. But how much did they did 54 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: they earn while they were stuck up there? Do we know? 55 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 2: Not as much as people thought. They spend two hundred 56 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:29,640 Speaker 2: and eighty six days up there. That's longer than the 57 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:31,800 Speaker 2: six or seven days they were originally supposed to spend. 58 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 2: So people are saying, well, did they get any extra 59 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 2: pay for this? NASA said, I guess they were bombarded 60 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 2: by questions. They don't receive overtime, holiday or weekend pay, 61 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:43,119 Speaker 2: so they get paid for a forty hour work day. 62 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 2: On average, they make about one hundred and fifty two 63 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 2: thousand a year. Now, this is what I found interesting. 64 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 2: Incidental expenses to travel, Now, this is to any location. 65 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 2: This could be from Florida to California. This could be 66 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 2: from Florida to the International Space Station. How much do 67 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:57,079 Speaker 2: you think they get a day for. 68 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: That, well, just for being in space, just. 69 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 2: Just an incidental expenses for anything they want to want 70 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 2: to spend on. Every day, they get five dollars a day, 71 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:11,920 Speaker 2: So that would give them about fourteen hundred No, it's not, 72 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 2: is it? Fourteen hundred dollars for that entire time they 73 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 2: were up there. So the bottom line is they didn't 74 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 2: come home rich. Hopefully they'll get some kind of bonus 75 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 2: or at least a pat on the back for having 76 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 2: to spend an extra eight months and three weeks longer 77 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 2: than they were supposed to up there. 78 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: A spar sir, Yeah, Dan, thank you very much for that. 79 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 1: Damn mins and now US correspondent. 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