Is Less More?

In school, for all of this week in LA, we are trying to decide if people with next to nothing can be happier than us, who have all of this money, good houses, cars, ect.
I was discussing this with my dad, who had had the expirience. He worked in fields with migrant workers for 2 bucks hour, and he has been to some of the poorest parts of Africa to fix schools and help the children there.
In Africa, there are people who live in land fills, digging holes in the trash to have shelter from the elements. There are people who have mud houses with dirt floors, and they sweep the floors and organize the very small amount of things they own, and they are pround of it all.
Do you belive that less is more?