Hi, Interesting thoughts! I believe it’s not possible to make a general statement on whether money makes people more or less happy. Money comes with a whole set of new elements that may have good or bad impact on our happiness, and depending on how susceptible we are to every one of them, the conclusion will go one way or the other (i.e. different from person to person). I recently made an effort to provide a more comprehensive picture of what these ad- and disadvantages are. I invite you to have a look at <a href="http://www.spreadinghappiness.org/2009/08/money- how-much-should-we-strive-for-it-to-become-happy">Money and Happiness</a>  and tell me what you think!
Thank you, Nick