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I appreciated D.J. Tice's catalog of current explanations for the puzzle of how we can be discontented amid the most fortunate circumstances in history ("The pursuit of unhappiness (and its remedies)," Opinion Exchange, April 2). He lists political orientation, social media, the temperamental baseline theory and financial status.

But he asked the wrong question. The puzzle is not why we are unhappy, but why should we expect that happiness is our natural state. Happiness is an accomplishment, not a default.

The Buddha famously said that life is suffering. Evolutionary psychologists have been clear for decades that evolution did not engineer us to be happy, but to survive. With tigers in the bushes and drought around the corner, a restless anxiety better ensured survival than a blissful complacency. I often tell my law students that the genes of a squirrel that is satisfied with just one nut will not make it into the next generation.

Asking the right question is important because it leads to more useful answers: Happiness is found most readily in the conduct for which evolution itself has created psychic rewards. Start with the obvious: mating and child-rearing, useful work, contributions to the tribe, status based on legitimate accomplishments, a healthy lifestyle. And don't forget the practices that tap into our highly evolved capacity for spirituality — gratitude, mindfulness, prayer, ritual and especially the appreciation of something greater than ourselves.

Bruce Peterson, Minneapolis

This poverty problem could get worse in today's so-called gig economy, with fewer women marrying and companies refusing to offer livable wages and health benefits.

It is a bright spot to note that a higher percentage of college students are now female (except that education could incur crushing student loan debt). The younger generations of women would be better off choosing higher-paying professions or, better yet, starting their own businesses. Parents of daughters might teach their offspring smart money management to feather their own financial nests because they may not be able to rely on a spouse or even an employer to support them. Also, forward-thinking progressive politicians could work on fixing the income gaps in the workforce.

Hopefully some of these ideas might lessen female poverty for future generations, which would make a better world for all of us.

Carlene Dean, Osakis, Minn.

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From starting a job to receiving a pension, women face systemic barriers that impede their economic and social advancement. We need an ERA to unleash women from "pink collar jobs," positions where women are segregated into lower-paying job categories in which their contributions are undervalued compared with those of men. We need an ERA to diminish the "motherhood penalty," the phenomenon by which women's pay decreases once they become mothers to 58 cents for every dollar paid to fathers. We need an ERA in recognition of the predominance of women caring for aging parents who lose an average of $142,000 in wages. We need an ERA to recognize women's role in the "second shift" of domestic responsibilities that limit their career. We definitely need an ERA to correct the gender pay gap that has barely budged in 15 years.

Currently, the ERA bills (SF 37, HF 173) are moving through the legislative process, so let our leaders hear from you. Call, write or email your legislators to enshrine equality into the Minnesota Constitution and end second-class citizenship for half of the population. It is time for the ERA!

Kathryn Ringham, Minneapolis

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I'm not opposed to the ERA but I would like to point out that if it is passed, it will have no effect on women's rights. Although the U.S. Constitution doesn't explicitly say that women have the same rights as men, U.S. law does not allow discrimination based on sex.

Folliard states that "two-thirds of seniors below poverty level are women." Making gender equality explicit in the Constitution will not guarantee that the poverty rate among elderly men and women is exactly equal.

Another reason given to pass the ERA is that the U.S. doesn't guarantee paid maternity leave. An ERA won't guarantee paid maternity leave; neither will it guarantee paid paternity leave.

Folliard says that the ERA should be passed "because fewer than 1% of rapists will ever be adjudicated." That issue has nothing to do with equal rights. There are many reasons that it is hard to prosecute rape cases, but that difficulty is not because women don't have equal rights.

So, let's pass the ERA, but let's not deceive ourselves into believing that women don't currently have equal rights.

James Brandt, New Brighton

Regarding "Building a needed workforce" (April 4), why do I see all three pictures of students in the Star Tribune of young white men with baseball hats? Where are the struggling women and people of color who could also benefit from building necessary skills in the trades?

Workforce development scholarships ought to seek out communities where resources are scarce and people are disadvantaged, for goodness' sake! It's time we focus on the barriers and fragility of those who could use a leg up. Many people in low-opportunity areas are not aware of existing organizations that could intercede and assist in overcoming those extraordinary hurdles.

It's not enough to fund trade schools and their programs; it is crucial for those deprived communities to get the necessary attention so members of those communities can ascend to a better life.

Sharon E. Carlson, Andover

Everyone "carps" about invasive species, yet they march on despite all efforts to stop them. Dennis Anderson's sarcastic forecast of a "Post-Invasive Carp Period" will likely come to be — regardless of what is done ("It's 2035, with much to carp about," April 2). Look at Eurasian watermilfoil. In the 30 years since its introduction into Minnesota, milfoil's spread has been unabated, adding 11 additional lakes per year and now infests almost 400 Minnesota lakes. How about zebra mussels? Zebra mussels' spread has accelerated (about five new lakes per year in the first five years, and about 44 lakes per year in the past five years). Both despite annual expenditures of tens of million dollars, hundreds of thousands boat inspections, substantial research and a very highly aware boater population. We should have learned by now never to bet against invasive species.