In American society, there are many norms that have become essential to citizenship, like owning a home or attending college to pursue higher education. The American Dream drove Americans to improve their living standards and live luxurious suburban lifestyles, but quickly it became evident that in order to achieve the American Dream, people were forced to take on debt. Mortgages, credit cards, and student loans became a part of regular conversation for the middle-class and were crucial to upholding societal standards. In the United States, debt is required for American citizenship, especially for the middle-class. Types of debt determine whether or not a person’s citizenship is diminished. For example, medical debt and student loans are …show more content…
However, Shklar does not address different types of debt that are essential to the middle-class’ achievements in society. Dwyer, et. al., are that there has been a generational shift that has increased the amount of debt in American society, which can be attributed to the democratization of credit and a shift in desired lifestyles (Dwyer, et. al., 728). Dwyer, et. al., argue that the generational shift has directly impacted younger generations because the transition to adulthood has become harder and in order for younger generations to be independent, they must “[make] consequential choices within the opportunities and constraints of their social context” (Dwyer, et. al., 729). Essentially, younger generations do not have the same financial means that older generations have, therefore, they must take on some form of debt in order to advance further and to better their standing in society. For example, student loans help people attain higher education which is a long-term investment: “a college education is an investment in human capital that is crucial to improving one’s life chances” (Dwyer, et. al., 729). College education is worth the positive debt because it opens a person up to more opportunities like employment or professional degrees, such as law and medical degrees. However, there are impacts from negative forms of debt, such as credit card debt, that hinder a person’s citizenship and social equality. Due to
Throughout the extract, “Strapped,” author Tamara Draut notes why today’s young adults have complications getting financially ahead. Along with student-loan debt, today’s college students may also leave with the burden of credit card debt. Draut argues that college campuses aren’t sufficiently regulating card companies on campus, therefore putting their students at risk for debt.
There is a widespread concern about rising levels of debt. Debt can become disastrous for those who live alone or those families who are already having problems with supporting their family. The people who might be struck by debt, they might have trouble recovering. Debt can cause Americans to lose their homes and stability they need to feed, and shelter their families. Although debt comes upon us Americans quickly, people can see debt as terrible thing to be stuck with. It has many disadvantages that can devastate to people.
Peñaloza, L., & Barnhart, M. (2011). Living U.S. capitalism: The normalization of Credit/Debt. Journal of consumer research,38(4), 743-762.
More specifically, one story talks about Shelly Comer a divorced 43 year old mother of three who also take care of her oldest child’s friend, Michelle. Shelly has worked her whole life doing a variety of jobs. She recently became a registered nurse and now works night shifts and makes an annual income of $70,377. Regardless of these things, she is currently going into debt so that Michelle can go to college. This article not only explains the “many average Americans that are struggling from rising costs” but also how it’s getting harder for American families to have any money for themselves.
The later idea suggests that one of the major conflicts associated with credit card debt among college students is because of the relaxed view taken on credit. To illustrate, “83% of college undergraduate students in the US have credit cards…”(Wang & Xiao, 2009) exemplifying the potential danger of accruing debt by signing up for so manu credit cards. Furthermore, with increased costs of education, universities find it is acceptable for students to pay for tuition by credit card. In certain circumstances, credit cards have become a quick remedy and students are forced to supplement income to pay for education and other necessities and as a result perpetuate the debt issue.
Individuals dealing with student debt "are postponing marriage, childbearing and home purchases, and pretty evidently limiting the percentage of young people who start a business or try to do something entrepreneurial," said Mitch Daniels, president of Purdue University and the former Republican governor of Indiana (qtd. in Holland). Because it’s almost universally accepted that college is the key to success, students are finding themselves falling head-over-heels in large amounts of student debt justified only by these universal standards. Student debt doesn’t just burden the individuals who are liable, the sheer amount of debt has begun to rattle institutions and financial patterns that are at the core of American society (Holland).
In “Strapped,” author Tamara Draut explains why today’s young adults have trouble getting financially ahead. Along with student- loan debt, today’s college graduates also leave with a higher risk of credit card debt than previous generations. Draut argues that college campuses aren’t regulating the card companies on campuses, therefore not protecting their students. She reasons that a problem on college campuses across the nation, credit card debt, has spun out of control by credit card pushers leading students into debt and feeling financially held back.
In his Op-Ed article “The Culture of Debt”, David Brooks, an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, sheds light on the bigger picture of debt in the nation today and compares three major theories surrounding the question of who is to blame for Diane McLeod’s plummet into indebtedness.
With regard of college students having a difficult time being able to pay off their student debt, its affecting how they’re not able to transition into adulthood after college. Student debt has been forcing countless college graduates back home with their parents (Houle, & Warner, 2017). A research study looked at different variables that was causing this to occur. They looked at different backgrounds and social class and how it effects who will be able to transition into adulthood and those will not be able to (Houle, & Warner 2017). They examine this occurrence by gather information through survey and longitudinal studies on college graduates. The participants were all born between 1980-1984 who went college. There were 4,578 participants
Western debt-based, consumption-driven societies have been living beyond their means for a very, very long time. For decades we have been consuming, as a group of people, more than we have been producing and we 've been financing it by mortgaging our children 's future through national debt and deficit spending. The question becomes, "How long can we continue to mortgage our children 's future and how many creditors are still willing to buy that mortgage?"
“We hold these truths to be self-evident 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.” This statement of declaration holds the founding ideas of the American Dream that “all men are created equal with certain rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. American culture has implanted the idea that we live in a land of opportunity where the American Dream is possible for all citizens. Millions of people from across the globe travel to the United States with the hopes of gaining a piece of the pie (The American Dream). This declaration sounds convincing and easily obtainable, but it is? In his article, “Master of Desire,” Jack Solomon states “The American dream has two faces: the one communally egalitarian and the other competitively elitist…Even as America’s great myth of equality celebrates the virtues of mom and apple pie, it also lures us to achieve social distinction, to rise above the crowd and bask alone in the glory”. Simply put, the American dream promotes the concept of “one for all and all for one” yet entices its citizens with the idea that to succeed it’s every man for themselves. Jack Solomon was right in his claim that the American dream incites competition, yet competition is necessary to achieve success.
Over the past few decades, the “American Dream” vision has been quickly vanishing as a result of the increasing troubles and weakening of the middle class. It has lost the view of being the most successful and wealthy middle class in the world, while the middle classes in other countries are excelling in earning higher middle and lower class incomes. The issue of the declining wealth of the middle class explains a huge problem in the United States’ future prosperity and well being for the citizens and the country. There are many issues that affect the success of the middle and lower classes, such as structural differences in the economy, culture, and government. The gap between the middle and high classes is increasing specifically. The United States has the image of giving people life and prosperity, but inequality is increasing significantly due to issues in education, decrease in taxation among the upper class, and decrease of middle class power in the democracy, while other ideas and mechanisms can be take from other nations.
The average debt suffered by every 2013 college graduate was a staggering $35,200 (Roos p. 2 par 1). According to experts, this is the worst the economy has been in 80 years (Thompson, par 4). There are so many things working against the generation of today from an economical standpoint. The housing market crash of 2007-2008 took a toll on the economy as a whole, but in turn managed to affect millenials more so than any other generation. Throughout American history, every generation has had one of the same major goals; get rich quickly and be more prosperous than the generation before. Even today as the country has grown richer, Generations X and Y (people up to the age of about 50) have amassed less wealth than their parents had when they were the same age. If this is not harrowing enough, the average net worth of a person aged 29-37 has been lowered by 21% since 1983 while the average net worth of a person aged 56-64 has more than doubled since the same year. It is depressing to think that millenials will almost indefinitely suffer more instability in their retirements than their parents or even their grandparents (Lowrey, p. 2 par 5). Someone at the age of 30 in 2013 was worth 21% less than someone at the age of 30 in 1983, meanwhile the net worth of an average 60 year old in 2013 was more than twice as high as a 60 year old in 1983. In other words, young people are getting poorer as older people becoming richer
One of the major causes of poverty throughout the world is National Debt. Also known as public debt, national debt is defined as “the total financial obligations of the central government of a nation usually in the form of interest-bearing government bonds” (National debt 2015). International debt is complex challenge in magnitude with poverty affecting the welfare of millions of people, in many countries all over the world. However at the same time international debt does not only affect those in the country but rather affects many international and private sources of financial institutions. National debt presents many moral challenge
The stubbornness of cumbersome personal debt following a recovery highlights problems that are systemic. Even with healthy looking numbers, jobs are still rapidly going overseas. Student debt increases as the cost of attending College keeps getting more costly. In certain instances, prosperity might even ensure a debt crisis that's going downhill when, for instance, local communities