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The Shattered Remains of the American Dream

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posted on Oct, 4 2013 @ 08:11 AM
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The dream is dead for all but the most talented and driven. We're in an age of global hyper-competition coinciding with a decline in easily extractable resources.

The only people living the high life are the ones coasting off the sweat of their parents, and that won't last forever.

There's not a chance in hell I'd consider bringing a child into the world. It makes little to no sense unless I had mid six figures in the bank, and that's not happening anytime soon.



posted on Oct, 4 2013 @ 08:29 AM
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reply to post by chucknasty
 


You make some valid points..but I think you are also dismissing the disillusionment that may come with not giving your own children what you had yourself. Now, certainly, it can be argued that a generation had in excess of their need but, it's still likely very difficult to downsize expectations. You were raised one way and have to live another and your children will have even less opportunity still.

It's an adjustment and a redefinition, even if you're still better off than the rest of the world.

Maybe that's why, as you say, it seems more attainable for immigrants or at least they seem happier with the fruits of their labor...it's still better than what they may have achieved in their home country.
edit on 10/4/2013 by kosmicjack because: (no reason given)



posted on Oct, 4 2013 @ 12:39 PM
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I'd like to toss some real word statistics in here, as people have either brought up the idea of income or the fact that it's relevant to the discussion to carry on:




America's economic growth was striking during the postwar era. Such growth meant that families real incomes grew in 1953 by approximately 50 percent over the pre-Depression boom year of 1929.
...
More and more young Americans were completing high school and even attending college.


To put a number on this, according to an article in 1953 in Fortune, high-income was considered $7,500 annually. The number of people in the $4,000 to $7,000 range in 1929 was 5.5 million versus 17.9 in 1953.

Chafe, William H. A History of Our Time: Readings on Postwar America. Eighth Edition. 55-56. 2012.

The perspective being that during the time of coining the term "American Dream" we saw two economic booms. The first of course was during the post-World War I era from 1919-1930, the second came in 1953 and lasted substantially longer. The short returns after World War II did not necessarily impact the income of the common man so much as it ensured job security, financial security and returned workers to their employed status.

That being said, I would assume that an "American Dream" in the 1930s would be just getting by without loosing your house, or your job. The national unemployment rate was high, and the price of consumer goods began to increase. I think most people who have done research on the Great Depression know this. This is just an example of variation of the American Dream. I don't think most Americans set their sights particularly high in an unreasonable manner. History does not exactly reflect this, most of the instances are fairly recent excluding the big entrepreneurs of the early 20th Century.

Do you guys believe that money will always be a constant variable in the dream as proposed?



posted on Oct, 4 2013 @ 03:31 PM
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The American dream is dead because people no longer plan on having a productive life.

Used to be that people started small and worked towards goals. This took effort, discipline and an actual plan to save money, accrue as little debt as possible and to always improve your situation.

They also used to believe in accountability and integrity. These traits are basically extinct.

Now the mindset is simply "I want it all. I want it now, and I want someone else to pay for it."

The wealthy and corrupt are allowed to continue doing what they do because the rest of us vote wealthy and corrupt people into office.

They promise to steal from the productive and give to the nonproductive members in exchange for votes and power. The voters have agreed to and complied with this deal.

Greed and laziness are the only principles our society believes in any more.



posted on Oct, 14 2013 @ 03:11 AM
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Sorry it took me so long to get back.


badgerprints
The American dream is dead because people no longer plan on having a productive life.

Used to be that people started small and worked towards goals. This took effort, discipline and an actual plan to save money, accrue as little debt as possible and to always improve your situation.


I wanted to take your post a part because it honestly shares a lot of things that I agree with. My mother works for the public school system and time and again I'm asked to assist. It is there where you see the kind of children that are being raised these days. No discipline, no respect, and they're not taught to pay attention and give respect. It's really quite disheartening.

I think most people these days grasp hold of the idea that you're either born with money and keep it, or you're born poor and can't achieve it. That's honestly not how things used to be. Though, I can't lie - I had a chance to attend a lecture by George Papadreou last week and he actually hinted at this very thing: people can't thrive when business owns government. However, that being said, I think we as a nation choose for that to happen, whether or not we consciously address it in that way.


They also used to believe in accountability and integrity. These traits are basically extinct.


There's no pride or honor in the task that someone performs, or in the things that people do. This may perhaps all stem back to how people were raised, but I'm not a sociologist. You used to find people that said "yes, I used to be here, but now I'm here." It sort of reminds me of something a professor said on campus at his 60th birthday celebration, "celebrate your roots and embrace them." It also reminds me of something my first boss told me that I still keep close today (I'm censoring this for ATS) "Don't spew crap to someone spewing crap."


Now the mindset is simply "I want it all. I want it now, and I want someone else to pay for it."


Case in point being all of the ten year olds who have a MacBook Pro, an iPad 3 and an iPhone 5S. I don't know about you, but when I was younger I had a family use Dell, a pad of paper and a pen, and you didn't go out of hollering distance of your house.


Greed and laziness are the only principles our society believes in any more.


Wonderfully said. I couldn't agree more.

I'm finishing up with midterms this week, so I should have a few more things to add to this then.



posted on Oct, 17 2013 @ 05:20 AM
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It's funny, I've seem to have pulled off the American dream at a time when it is the hardest it's ever been.

How? I stopped buying into consumer culture, tightened my belt and pulled myself up by the skin of my boots.

This after my family suffering debilitating losses in the initial real estate bubble, after experiencing tremendous personal health strains a loss of second income.

I am an under 35 gen-xer, from a middle class family whose grandfather was a Gardner, my father was blue collar labor, and I and my three brothers with a public education all are well on our way .

each of my brothers have achieved a large portion of the American dream, by never giving up, making sacrifices, working hard.

We have even gotten to point where my wife and I are helping raise up family and friends, to give them a helping hand that all our hard work has allowed.


The dream is alive and well for those willing to do what is necessary, and drop the attitude that we deserve anything.

This is America still, tarnished as it is, opertunity is there for those who take it.




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