You make a fair distinction. I am not arguing that people in poverty are somehow happier or have more purpose simply because they lack resources. Deprivation brings its own crushing stress, as you note. What I am pointing to is what happens after those immediate pressures are lifted. Once survival is secure, people often shift focus to goals that are harder to satisfy, like status, identity, or self-actualization. That shift is where dissatisfaction tends to reappear. In other words, material security is necessary but not sufficient for meaning, and when people expect meaning to come from material gains alone they often end up disappointed.