Americans think the American dream is dying
Americans think the American dream is dying
www.axios.com
Just a moment...
There is a discussion on Hacker News, but feel free to comment here as well.
9 comments
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Already been dead
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No, it just pining for the fjords!
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I kind of looked up to the US back in the 80s early 90s. Maybe I was uninformed back then, or maybe it was actually better.
Now, it's one of the last countries I'd want to move to
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Let's take a moment to define what the American dream is. Then, let's start seeing how much of it the average citizen can achieve.
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I'll take a stab at it to generate a starting point... Post highschool, either an affordable college degree or trade school for those who want to pursue one. Ymmv on how much of a pay bump certain degrees give you (separate argument).
For those directly entering the workforce, a full time job should be enough to cover rent or mortgage for 1.5 people on top of general living expenses for the area, plus an additional 10 percent (spitballing)minimum for savings/other personal expenses. 1.5 as some people have dependants they may be caring for.
A person should have free time separate from work sufficient to pursue a hobby, and some expectation of privacy to do so without immediate judgement.
A person should not need or be convinced to fear their neighbors.
A person should not have a major crisis of food, housing, safety, or employment.
A community should support the people within.
Home ownership should be a reasonable 5-year goal for the majority of the population.
A person should be able to maintain a standard of living regardless of any crisis, disability, or crestfall. Additionally, people who are not productive should not be seen as a burden to a community at any scale.
Mental health and other social safety nets should be readily available to those who need them, and should be able to provide needed resources within a reasonable time frame.
Nothing in this list should put any undue stress or burden on any specific individual or group.
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That's a thoughtful list. A lot of that has never existed in the USA and the remainder has been diminishing for the past 50 years.
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Parents immigrate have nice homes. Meanwhile thier children can't afford to move out.
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As a non-American, university taught me that individuals in the US can't grow rich unless they have some advantage over others, such as having rich parents or great talent. This was taught while discussing Death of a Salesman
9 comments
Dying makes you think it's slowly shriveling or perhaps grey haired withering.
The American dream is being actively choked to death by the unrelenting and unregulated greed of corporations that control the government.
The only thing workers can do is rise up. All sectors. Yep, even you.