The American dream is a lovely concept. It contends that no matter who you are or where you came from, if you continually showcase a good work ethic, dedication, and determination, this dream can become a reality. You'll have a big house in the suburbs, a beautiful wife/handsome husband, a couple of kids, a dog, a white picket fence, backyard barbecues in the summer, and an annual family vacation. In other words, you'll be living the dream. However, it seems that over the past 30+ years, while this dream is still feasible for a decent percentage of people and their families, it's becoming decreasingly likely. Trickle-down economics, certain tax breaks and loopholes, and through that, a growing disparity between the top 1-2% and everybody else, has left many in the middle-class living paycheck to paycheck, and many in the lower-class searching for second and third jobs in order to just make ends meet. Sadly, while the rich have been continuing to get richer these past 30+ years, they've appeared to maintain this superior and guilt-free image to much of the public, all the while most the attention and blame for our economic struggles have been directed at the poor. I have a feeling this is largely due to the concepts of hope and denial.
I think most Americans want to believe in the American dream. They want to believe if they work hard enough, stay dedicated to their jobs, and are determined enough to succeed, this will result in them living the American dream. Due to this hope and denial, they often times find themselves defending the wealthiest among us, claiming that these very individuals obviously worked hard for their fortunes and earned every single penny along the way. If these rich individuals find tax loopholes in order to spend less come tax day, many will call this simply a smart business move, and due to all the hard work the wealthy put forth, they've earned the right to do this. This is why many of these same "hopeful" Americans tend to cast the poor as lazy and as moochers, because in their minds, the American dream is a feasible destination for everyone, so if a person falls short, it's obviously due to a lack of work ethic, dedication, and determination. Also, while it was a smart business move for the wealthiest to find tax loopholes to pay less come tax day, the poor asking for money are simply moochers seeking government handouts.
The poorest among us are difficult for the most ardent of American dream believers to comprehend, because to them, they illustrate what's wrong with our economic system, and instead of thinking about where we went wrong, they'd rather just cast these people off as lazy moochers, so their vision of the ever so feasible American dream is still in tact. As in denial as they may be, however, their consciences still aren't seeing the whole picture, for along with the poorest among us, the richest among us are a direct illustration of what's wrong with our economic system. While some do work hard for their fortunes, others inherit theirs, and while some whom are poor are in fact lazy, others work extraordinarily hard. The fact of the matter is, no matter how hard one works anymore in this country, if one is born in a wealthy family, the odds are good that trend will continue into adulthood, and if one is born in a poor family, the odds are good that trend will continue as well. Yes, there are exceptions to those odds, but again, they're exceptions. The truth is that corporations and the richest among us can afford to find loopholes and find ways to cheat the country out of a great deal more money than the poor could ever fathom. Yet since they're obscenely wealthy, many Americans give them a pass on their lack of ethics, while instead choosing to cast the poor as this country's scapegoat, because to them, these individuals are poor only due to a lack of work and effort. In the meantime, the top 1-2% are laughing at the notion of the American dream, because to them, this "dream" is a substandard way of life, not realizing it's truly a dream for the other 98-99%. Unfortunately, the longer we allow the wealthy to convince the middle-class that the poor is to blame for this country's financial ills, the more they'll be laughing at the rest of us, and the more unlikely it will be for those in the middle- and lower-classes to achieve the American dream.
http://billmoyers.com/2014/01/16/ten-examples-of-welfare-for-corporations-and-the-ultra-rich/
I think most Americans want to believe in the American dream. They want to believe if they work hard enough, stay dedicated to their jobs, and are determined enough to succeed, this will result in them living the American dream. Due to this hope and denial, they often times find themselves defending the wealthiest among us, claiming that these very individuals obviously worked hard for their fortunes and earned every single penny along the way. If these rich individuals find tax loopholes in order to spend less come tax day, many will call this simply a smart business move, and due to all the hard work the wealthy put forth, they've earned the right to do this. This is why many of these same "hopeful" Americans tend to cast the poor as lazy and as moochers, because in their minds, the American dream is a feasible destination for everyone, so if a person falls short, it's obviously due to a lack of work ethic, dedication, and determination. Also, while it was a smart business move for the wealthiest to find tax loopholes to pay less come tax day, the poor asking for money are simply moochers seeking government handouts.
The poorest among us are difficult for the most ardent of American dream believers to comprehend, because to them, they illustrate what's wrong with our economic system, and instead of thinking about where we went wrong, they'd rather just cast these people off as lazy moochers, so their vision of the ever so feasible American dream is still in tact. As in denial as they may be, however, their consciences still aren't seeing the whole picture, for along with the poorest among us, the richest among us are a direct illustration of what's wrong with our economic system. While some do work hard for their fortunes, others inherit theirs, and while some whom are poor are in fact lazy, others work extraordinarily hard. The fact of the matter is, no matter how hard one works anymore in this country, if one is born in a wealthy family, the odds are good that trend will continue into adulthood, and if one is born in a poor family, the odds are good that trend will continue as well. Yes, there are exceptions to those odds, but again, they're exceptions. The truth is that corporations and the richest among us can afford to find loopholes and find ways to cheat the country out of a great deal more money than the poor could ever fathom. Yet since they're obscenely wealthy, many Americans give them a pass on their lack of ethics, while instead choosing to cast the poor as this country's scapegoat, because to them, these individuals are poor only due to a lack of work and effort. In the meantime, the top 1-2% are laughing at the notion of the American dream, because to them, this "dream" is a substandard way of life, not realizing it's truly a dream for the other 98-99%. Unfortunately, the longer we allow the wealthy to convince the middle-class that the poor is to blame for this country's financial ills, the more they'll be laughing at the rest of us, and the more unlikely it will be for those in the middle- and lower-classes to achieve the American dream.
http://billmoyers.com/2014/01/16/ten-examples-of-welfare-for-corporations-and-the-ultra-rich/
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