Whether we're asking for lunch money or for a new iPod, parents always give the same answer: "Money doesn't grow on trees" (though, being made of cotton and flax, it technically does come from plants). When we beg for a little bit more moolah to buy that hip new Kanye West CD because it would make us the happiest kids on the planet, we're told that "money can't buy happiness." But is this really true? Doesn't money have a kind of strange magical power to make us downright ecstatic? Experts say that you can't put a price on happiness, but I'd have to disagree. Money can definitely make you happier.

University of Michigan professor Peter Ubel, in an interview with Forbes magazine in 2004, said, "The relationship between money and happiness is pretty darned small." But how can it be explained that one of the things that brings me the most joy in life is finding a $20 bill on the ground? I've never heard of anyone reaching into the pocket of an old winter jacket, finding five bucks, and thinking Oh man, this stinks!

Just look at how our government and penal system treats those of us with money. In   December 2006, Nicole Richie was found speeding on the wrong side of a California freeway under the influence of marijuana and Vicodin and served a grand total of 82 minutes in jail. And since we are happy when we are free and, I would assume, generally unhappy while imprisoned, I'd say she was pretty pleased. When O.J. Simpson was caught stealing from a Las Vegas hotel room, he quickly posted the $125,000 bail without hesitation. Is O.J. happier given that he isn't in the slammer anymore? Yeah, probably. Are these two out of jail because of their celebrity and, therefore, did their money help them get out of a sticky situation? Definitely.

  Let's take a moment to delve into the world of television game shows. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire . Deal or No Deal . Old school classics like 100,000 Dollar Pyramid and Family Feud . Contestants get fairly excited when they win the grand prize, don't they? Nobody is ever unhappy when they become a millionaire or outsmart the all-powerful banker. Nobody is ever upset when they spin the Wheel of Fortune, land on "jackpot," and find seven R's in the puzzle. "Now I can pay off my college loans!" these winners exclaim, "And I can finally move out of my parents' house!" Any normal person would be pretty satisfied with his new money. And think about the power money has. Money is able to make even us, the home viewers, feel all fuzzy inside. "Just seeing them so happy makes me happy," said junior Kerry Plante. And at the root of this insane amount of happiness? You got it: money!

Will Wilkinson, a researcher at the Cato Institute in Washington D.C. who specializes in happiness, claims that "in every society, at any point in time, richer people are happier." Well said, Will. Well said.