A bipartisan pair aims to solve America’s happiness problem

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. and Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox are joining forces to try and address a vexing problem plaguing the U.S.: Americans are less and less happy.

Today, the pair is launching the “Restoring the Common Good Initiative,” a bipartisan effort they describe as a way to move away from the divisive politics of Washington and talk about and better understand “the state of American anxiety,” Murphy told Semafor in an interview.

US policymakers are grappling with a divided electorate that, data suggests, is increasingly dissatisfied with their political leaders and their lives. A majority of Americans — including young Americans — believe the country to be headed in the wrong direction, according to recent polling. National suicide rates are on the rise. The US slipped from 15th to 23rd on Gallup’s global happiness tracker released earlier this year.