The death of the American dream.

For generations our society, culture, the media and our government have propagated the idea that America is the land of opportunity. A place where the hungry can come from around the world and with hard work and some luck live the American dream. My idea of the American dream is fairly simple. Living a life without government interference of your individual "pursuit of happiness", education, home ownership and giving your children a better life than you had with the hope that trend continues onward to the generations that follow. New York once was a haven for those immigrants with the hunger and drive to succeed, it is now a place for those who are already well fed. Unfortunately, our government and society are responsible for the death of the American dream.

When my Grandfather’s family came here from Italy decades ago he believed in the American dream. He came here with the clothes on his back and believed that with hard work he could make a better life for himself. He made a low income, noble living through hard, honest work, all the while holding on to the idea that this was America and he would be rewarded for his efforts. When my Father was born my Grandfather struggled to keep his head afloat financially but he held on tight to that dream, eventually renting a modest apartment in a nice area of Brooklyn and giving my father a decent life, all the while instilling the American dream in my father. My Father graduated high school, started a career, purchased a home, allowed my Grandfather to move in and raised two college educated children in myself and my brother. American dream achieved. My Father always told me about our humble beginnings, the struggles my family went through and instilled in myself the idea that this is America, anything is possible. I can do and be whatever I want to. I too can achieve the American dream. I do believe in their time the American dream was alive and breathing. Unfortunately today, the more and more I ponder this dream that drove millions to come here in search of a better life, I realize that "the system" and the odds are very much against me. The idea of achieving the American dream, while still alive in the hearts and minds of people, is dead in reality.

The media always takes a liking to "rags to riches" stories. We always hear about the hopeless subway entertainer who gets discovered by a record producer, the computer whiz who builds a garage based business into the largest company in the world and so on. But let’s be realistic. These stories of grand success from nothing are few and far between. Reality is most people do not, in the words of Thoreau “go confidently in the direction of their dreams and live the life they’ve imagined.” Most fail at achieving the American dream. And reality shows this hidden truth.

I believe there is truth in numbers. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. According to the Cato Institute "the top 1% now takes in an astounding 16% of national income, up from 8% in 1980." These wealthy people lobby, donate and influence our politics to ensure that our government representatives are working with the best interests of the affluent in mind. Money buys power, status, political influence and makes more money. The class struggle is no longer a struggle but a battle that has been lost by the middle class, a class which is quickly becoming non-existent.

Our higher education system is somewhat to blame. Hiding behind the guise of the old adage of better education equals higher earnings potential is the true story of admissions. There have been numerous studies that show a significant amount of Ivy league attendants are only there because of their parents ability to donate to the institution or because they are a legacy entry, not because of their ability. The child’s whose parents attended Harvard or whose parents have the ability to make a significant endowment take precedence in placement over the middle class child with sometimes far superior academic credentials. George Bush, our current President, attended Yale, so did his wealthy Father. Point taken. Even if you are fortunate enough to be someone who is admitted from a lower income class, upon graduation you are entering the real world with one strike against you, severe debt. Severe debt leads to a hindrance toward the next step of the American dream, home ownership.

Home ownership for young people today is also a far fetched aspect of the American dream. With the credit crunch (caused by those top 1% earning business executives might I add) coupled with unbelievably high home prices is causation of the basic foundation of the American dream, owning a home, becoming just that, a dream. Social mobility, at least upward, is virtually non-existent. I would argue that with the hand I am holding it will be very hard for me not only to move socially upward but to keep an even keel with my parents. That's not what we think of when we contemplate the American dream. We think everyone starting at the same starting line. Not the case.

With that said, I believe the workplace is perhaps the best example of the death of the American dream. When it comes to acquiring a new, prestigious job it is not necessarily what you know, it is who you know. The prestigious, well paying positions are occupied by men of wealth, good educations (most likely received again, through their family’s ability to donate) and prestige. If you come from a family of wealth, chances are they associate with those who are in the wealthy class. In turn, when it comes time for you to enter the workforce, more often than not nepotism will take over, strings will be pulled and just by familial association with wealthy circles you will garner a prestigious position. Hence, the rich stay rich and the lower class is forced to work toward that dream which may never be realized but instead just handed to someone of privilege. It is a vicious cycle in which I see no end.

The volumes of data out there has harkened me to the belief that the American dream is dead. By no means am I insinuating that I am hopeless from ever living the life I would like. I like to think of myself as becoming one of those very, very few exceptions. However, the chips are not stacked in my favor. Perhaps the term American dream needs to be removed from our lexicon and adjusted to better describe what it has become, an un-graspable idea and false hope for so many.