Who Stole The American Dream?

In Andrew Sullivan’s essay, “America Has Never Been So Ripe for Tyranny,” he expresses his beliefs that our government is drifting away from the original goals that were embedded for a structural government. Now a days, we are leading towards a government that is construct with individuals in power have wealth while the common people still dwell with less. Sullivan clarifies his argument by introducing the idea that our government is not a democracy, it is more closely similar to an oligarchy. Due to the fact that our democracy is economically unequal, it is coming close to being destroyed by our past and by the rich who can purchase political influences. As common people in society, our voice is simply being diminished due to the fact that

All over the world, people hear about and strive to live the “American Dream.” In 1791 Thomas Paine, an intellectual revolutionary, believed that America was a diverse country that was accommodating for its people. In his book “Rights of Man” he says that in America “the poor are not oppressed, the rich are not privileged… and their taxes are few.” None of these ideals are completely true in America today.

Insider trading became a more dangerous operation as the SEC and Department of Justice enforced American laws. Meanwhile, American politics became increasingly associated with wealth. Campaigns became more expensive and with the upcoming election, the Electoral College may select Jeb Bush, fulfilling his role as the third member of what effectively is the Bush dynasty or a Clinton to start the Clinton dynasty. The American government is eliminating the American Dream of individualistic success and instead conjoining economic prowess with political dominance. In practice, the stratified distribution of wealth and the American government system is evolving into a hierarchical regime with dynasties and minimal universal economic opportunities. Over the past thirty years over 50 percent of the wealth has been retained by the top .1% of Americans (Karimi). Instead of regular change, now scarcely does an inventor or hedge fund manager join those leading America. In practice, equal opportunity has become limited to those who already own capital. The American Identity no longer entails the American Dream, but rather is reverting to historical European practices. The United States’ government is an aristocratic republic with growing totalitarian powers. The current American identity is becoming a restricted form of economic determinism with minimal social

It can be said that money is power in the United States, and this is brought out in the essay, “Class in America---2012” written by Gregory Mantsios. He says that even though many Americans do not like to discuss class, “it can determine where people live, who their friends are, how well they are educated, and what they do for a living” (Mantsios). Many Americans do not speak about class type, and most find it unacceptable (Mantsios). Unfortunately, we can see that there are laws that are built to help and better the wealthy, while it cripples the rest of us. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “The richest twenty percent of Americans hold nearly ninety percent of the total household wealth in this county” (Institute) Gregory Mantsios without reserve describes the majority of people are at a disadvantage in their social class, while the upper class is compensated.

Cal Thomas writes a response essay towards Bob Herbert’s essay on the American dream. They both have opposing viewpoints on the matter of the “American Dream”. Thomas begins by introducing the idea of the American dream. What it is about and what modern people believe it to be. Defined as “achieving greater prosperity and consuming more material goods.” A definition for the modern folks of the American century. He continues to cite Bob Herbert in his essay pasting statements from the liberal authors’ essay. While pasting the statements made by Herbert, Thomas dissects the claims and creates an opposing view that is supported by backed evidence. He cites a claim on the disappearance of the American dream in America, made by Herbert, and then

Money has always been a major part of American politics. That red, white and blue our politicians wear could easily be embroidered with that paper green that we know so well. Over the last decade the cost of winning a political election has increased dramatically. In 2002 the cost of winning a senate seat was roughly four and a half million dollars, by 2012 that figure rose to an excess of ten million (David A Graham). In a matter of 12 years spending increased by over 250%. There has never been more money circulating through our political systems then there is today – and there have never been fewer hands involved. The inequality gap is only expanding. The economic elite continue to control a larger portion of our nation’s wealth, and the average worker’s portion continues to get smaller and smaller. It has become more apparent than ever, that our political system has begun developing into a plutocracy that no longer favors the masses, but rather the 1% that have the necessary funds to support our elections.

The American Dream remains alive and well however due to income inequality it has failed to become a reality for the overwhelming majority. The fact that all politicians today still agree that income inequality is a major problem in the United States, shows that there persists an overwhelming need for better methods than the ones that have been tried in the past. Politicians, in their quest to win elections, emphasize the failure of our economic system to bridge and close the gap between the rich and the poor masses. The implantation, by governments, of various economic theories postulated by the great economic minds

"How many men ever went to a barbecue and would let one man take off the table what's intended for nine-tenths of the people to eat? The only way you'll ever be able to feed the balance of the people is to make that man come back and bring back some of that grub that he ain't got no business with!" Louisiana Senator Huey P. Long argues a strong point aiming towards income equality. Do not get the Senator’s ideology mixed with a Robin Hood complex. In no way will stealing from the rich and giving to the poor help anything in the long-term. It is not how we ensure equal rights to all American citizens. The American dream was based on what seemed to be myths and legends of untold treasures and opportunities. Today, however,

Working class Americans once experienced many benefits, but over the past few decades these have mostly evaporated, and the remaining benefits are disappearing at a rapid pace. Many individuals are often persuaded with false information and misdirection from charismatic figures without any thought to investigate any of the details for themselves. However, this is just a marvelous performance, confusing the issues of why the middle class and poor are suffering so severely in today’s economy. In reality, the primary cause is due to the economic elite, the wealthiest of Americans, who have strategically placed themselves as the ruling class (Barlett & Steele, 2012). They have proceeded to erect discriminatory borders in order to separate themselves from the others they discard.

I believe the American Dream is dead. The American Dream was of living in a land of freedom and equality full of opportunities by discipline, working hard and perseverance to reach your dream life. All that is drowned by greed, in the realization of working hard you whole life and not making it up the ladder. America was built on greed because while America was being founded and becoming a nation everyone worried about was having harvesting soil, rivers full of minerals and fish, mining for gold, silver and copper. Tell this day we are still full of greed wanting the best clothing, fastest car, biggest house, is this The American Dream, always trying to have better stuff than everyone

A devastating commentary on the erosion of American democratic values, The Broken Contract, Inequality and American Values traces the reasons for the rising income inequality in the United States. Published in the year 2011, in a foreign affairs magazine, the author, George Packer critically examines the relationship between corporate interference inn elections and the rising income inequality. A graduate of Yale University and a writer for the New Yorker Magazine, Packer provides a commentary on the eroding American values. Set in the background of the Economic recession of 2008 and the war in Iraq, the author establishes a connect between the degradation of an informed electorate and the socioeconomic troubles plaguing the same electorate. The article traces the origin of the problem and provides reasoning as to how subsequent political events perpetuated the problem as we see it today.

Can the American Dream be found or do you have to work for it? In the simple plan three men are faced with a life altering find. As two brothers and their friend travel through the snowy Minnesota woods, they stumble across a life altering find. A wrecked plane filled with money. Over $4 million to be exact. The men put their heads together, to come up with A Simple Plan. A way to avoid the law and become rich. Soon greed will alter the men’s lives and the people they encounter forever.

The United States is currently built on an illusion of democracy where everyone supposedly has an equal opportunity and say in society. The issue arises when government fails to identify this injustice as a problem because the majority of officials tend to benefit from increased political power. Economic inequality, the uneven distribution of wealth in one direction, is the leading cause of poverty in the United States, and the number of individuals in poverty continue to grow. The government has neglected its citizens, and it has taken legislative favorability of the upper class rather than the middle and lower class. In the essay “Rent Seeking and the Making of an Unequal Society”, Joseph Stiglitz identifies rent seeking as a means of

A young aspiring teen walking down Washington D.C. might be amazed. They’d see the monuments built by calloused damaged hands and feel proud. They’d see the endless stripes of red and white and feel a sense of fullness while missing the red blood that made it. They’d see the green trees and paper and feel the full effects of the staged aesthetic. They’d see the house that represents the proud and joy of America, the White House, and feel happy that they live in a land of fair leaders, but all of these would only be a beautiful sparkling ocean with a littered black bottom. Through politicians, the American Dream has led to the corruption of the political system by greed, the need to be at the top, and making it difficult for others to obtain the dream; although some may argue that the American Dream built the modern day political system, one person’s dream doesn’t represent everyone’s dreams.

In his 2002 article “Why the Poor Don’t Soak the Rich,” Ian Shapiro seeks to explain “why there is so much inequality” in American democracy, despite the fact that “most [American] voters, being relatively poor, would…[theoretically] favor taxing the rich and transferring the proceeds downward.” Contrary to what he calls “institutional accounts” of economic inequality, Shapiro argues that numerous social and psychological factors ensure that underprivileged Americans remain unaware of – or simply uninterested in – the overall income distribution in America. His theory, as he himself puts it, seeks to refute the common notion that most American voters “are like coiled springs…[in that] were it not for various external forces…pressing them down, they would leap into action and demand a greater share of the economic pie.”