Is the American Dream Dead, Alive, or on Hold? Some people have different perspectives on the American Dream, whether it’s dead, alive or on hold. The views of the American Dream can also fluctuate depending on the year you are viewing. In the article RIP the Middle Class, by Edward McClelland he explains during the 1960’s people didn’t need to have much background in the manufacturing field in able to find a job and Gary Galipeau can support this idea by stating, “In those days, you could fill out an application and get an interview the same day.” Jump ahead ten years to the 70’s and not much has changed with finding a job. McClelland states, “It was easy for any high school graduate to get a job on an assembly line and make more income than …show more content…
Edward McClelland believes the American Dream is on hold because the middle class is shrinking and it’s not from capitalism, but from the failing government. It seems like Presidents Nixon, Carter, and Reagan were actually hurting the middle class whether it be from Nixon’s answer to inflation, Carter’s leverage against unions, or Reagan’s low prices of employment or even the firing of workers on strike. In 1982, when Ronald Reagan was in office, the unemployment rate was at a rate of 10.8 percent. This high percentage rate shows no hope for the middle class to get back on their feet. To help get a better picture of what it looked like, McClelland compared the declining of workers in unions and the middle class income, and says that they fit on the same axis. This can support that fact that that the middle class was not living the American Dream and that they can’t depend on the market to help them. That was until George Bush and Barack Obama came around and started helping the middle class get back on their feet. They helped by giving money to the big businesses in need. For example, Bush gave money to Wall Street to help with the bail and Barack Obama helped by getting General Motors through bankruptcy and passing the Affordable Care
Paul Krugman author of the article “Confronting Inequality” stresses the inequality of our social classes in the United States, he uses statistics to demonstrate the staggering consequences of this inequality within our social classes. Krugman emphasizes the fact that a majority of our wealth is owned by about one percent of the population, which is leaving the middle and lower class at an extreme disadvantage. One example Krugman uses is education; children that have wealthy families, have a higher percentage of finishing college than those of lower income families, proving the statement that Krugman was accentuating, “Class-inherited class- usually trumps talent.” The parents within this middle to lower class have been exceed their financial
My article deals with the study of society and social interaction of the Middle Class and how they survived on a Nickel and Dimed. In our text (n) 2, (pg. 42, paragraph 2) the journalist Barbara Ehrenreich brought the two stories together by research, that it is, impossible to make it on minimum wage work. The journalist observed in her study the mindset of the working Middle Class people, their persistence to make ends meet, to take care of their household, family and the will to make thing change. The “Middle Class” an aimless expression applied to those who is not on the system of welfare. In the United States certain development changed the past three decades, due to after World War II, the benefits of growth, and money making flow to
(1) In “America’s Wealth Gap ‘Unsustainable’ According to Harvard Study” (September 8th, 2014), Richard Valdmanis acknowledges THAT the economic gap between the richest and its middle and lower classes is accumulating and numerous people are affected by this dilemma. (2) Valdmanis supports his acknowledgement by referring to the study done by Harvard Business School on surveying the effects of the gap on people, economy, and institutions; moreover on how it affects the hope of thriving citizens and struggling citizens to their extremes. (3) Valdmanis’s motive is to present and describe the dilemmas and effects the economic gap has caused on the society and economy IN ORDER for the readers to recognize the crisis and get an idea of what is
In Allen’s chart, he illustrates how only 2% of the American population makes over $10,000 a year. With the poverty level at $2000 a year, most of the American population fell close to or under this annual income (Doc 8). These low wages of annual income made people's’ lives a true struggle. Citizens would work for nearly 24 hours, all week long, just to get by with basic living standards. An example of living at or below the poverty level, is documented in Paul Blanshard’s “How to live on Forty-six Cents a Day” interview with a woman living in South Carolina with her family of 6.
Reading through RIP, the Middle Class: 1946-2013, it became fairly obvious that the author, Edward McClelland, was presenting a thesis idea that consisted of promoting the middle class through examples of its prime time when middle class thrived. McClelland made the point clearly as he repeatedly provided examples ranging from the glory days of the assembly line industry that had provided high paying jobs for many people, to presidents who attempted to keep business within the United States to promote home grown jobs. He was especially focused on the point that the middle class was shrinking due to a large discrepancy between the wealthy and the rest of society as capitalism achieves its goal of padding the wealthiest and keeping the middle
The strong increase in production and consumption established countless jobs for Americans and left the unemployment rate low. However, the incoming wealth that industries were receiving was not being distributed evenly among its employees. The wages of the workers who performed manual labor increased minimally, while the employees who held higher positions or “white-collar workers”, their wages increased significantly, which began the imbalance of the economy. This imbalance in the economy played a major role in the decline of consumption in America since “The rich spent lavishly, but they could absorb only a tiny fraction of the nation’s output. Ordinary folk, on whom the system ultimately depended, were unable to take up the slack.
The essay Inequality Undermines Democracy by Eduardo Porter discusses the income gap in today’s world. The first main point Porter describes how Americans are not concerned with the income gap even though it is wider than other developed countries. The United States government has expressed little concern over this issue as well since they have done little to anything to restrain the trend. I believe this has caused opportunities across classes to shrink and the middle class does not exist anymore. I would consider my family a working middle class and I hear my family talking about how the middle class has diminished and it is either the rich or the poor.
The rich are able to run an economy on their own, as they do not need a government to support them or hold their hand like the poor do. This leaves the lower class almost lost in a society as rich are able to succeed in life, as the poor struggle to find a job to bring home food. Krugman also states that rich are more likely to go to college and graduate, compared to the poor. This prompts the middle class to buy a house in a good school district, even if it is out of their price range. At the time, Krugman says that health care and repealing the Bush tax cuts would allow the United States to, “use the revenue to pay for more benefits that help lower-and middle-income families.”
The stalk market crash along with the Great Depression both affected the beginning of the middle class myth. People argue about non educated people or people who work at fast food restaurants make more than educated people. The middle class does not just mess with our money because all of our money has to do with our nation's economy so if the nation's economy isn't doing good then we all know the money that is being made in our household won't do any good. In our economy the commodity that builds our economy is our resouces,discussing a wider range of perspectives some argue about not living in the right condition. Some who might live in the city might have to pay more rather than someone who lives in the country or vice versa.
Across the recent decades of the United States, the country has been dependent on Capitalism. The idea of an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit has always been an appealing philosophy for most Americans. Some of the other second-hand parties of citizens, however, did not always support or contribute for a Capitalist society. Currently, these small groups of non-conformist individuals are mildly shunned or looked down upon in the American culture. Nevertheless, history has shown a more drastic consequence for these individuals in the past; furthermore, the transition to Capitalism along with the need to maintain its influence produced a similar recurring theme of
In a speech by Corretta Scott King he gives statistics on the matters of low income households. He states, “Despite repeated denials from the president himself, [Reagan] administration cuts have been targeted to families of moderate and low income. . . . Half of American families—those with incomes of less than $20,000 a year—have suffered 70 percent of President Reagan's budget cuts. . . . many Americans are no better off today than they were four years ago because Reagan's “unfair policies” have curtailed their freedom” (Scott King 1985).
The American Dream is the idea that anybody can become successful in America. Many people argue whether or not it is a realistic expectation to live up to, but I believe that the American Dream is very much alive because of the internet, the opportunities that are accessible to almost everyone, and the people that are living proof of it. The internet has played a significant role in keeping the American Dream alive. With its vast reach and accessibility, the internet has provided countless opportunities for individuals to pursue their dreams and achieve success.
Atlantic Media Company, 18 May 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. "The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground. "
Annotated Bibliography Cohen, M. (2014, April 26). The American Dream is now just that for its middle classes – a dream. The Guardian, p. 00. “The American Dream is now just that for its middle classes – a dream” by Michael Cohen explains the perception of Americans towards the decline of the middle class. The article details how the middle class was viewed before the elections of President Obama, and how it’s viewed after the creation of the Affordable Care Act.
The American Dream is still alive and available to everyone today, although it is different for everyone. The American Dream is what each individual believes it to be and does not have a set definition, it is whatever the person believes it to be and it still possible for everyone. America still provides access to opportunity for everyone from the people who are born in poverty to the people that are born into wealth. While lately there has been much debate over whether the American Dream is still alive and well and many people believe that it is dead, there are considerable proof and evidence that the American Dream is developing and thriving. First of all, in the American Constitution, it states “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.