Is the American Dream Over - Essay Example

 On January 21, 2013 in Washington D.C, the U.S. President Barack Obama presented his inaugural speech: "We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American; she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own" (Obama). According to Barack Obama, the USA is still the country of equal opportunities. Since long time ago, the American Dream seems attractive for many people all over the world, but now many people think that the American Dream is dying. The essence of the dream is the opportunity for the poor to become rich due to hard work, but now these opportunities became very limited. Due to income inequality the gap between rich and poor is increasing that is a problem because it will affect our next generations negatively reducing the chance for prosperity and fairness. Social mobility is one of the main indicators of equal opportunities in the democratic countries. Once it was considered that the greatest force of America is not in its military power, but in the economic system that is the example for the rest of the countries. But the question is who wants to adopt the economic model in which many of the population faces poverty, and only the rich can grow richer. During the last decade in the USA moving up the social ladder became rather an exception, than the rule. Now very few Americans who were born in a group with the lowest income could leave it, and also very few of those could pass into the category of citizens with the highest. Economic mobility in the USA is now lower than in the majority of the European countries. Such fact is disappointing for all the people, who considered America to be a country of equal opportunities and believed in American dream. Certainly, the opportunity to become a rich and successful citizen is influenced by the level of education. Here we can trace the main manifestations of inequality, which influence the future of the country and people. Rich people appear in advanced position. Good education in the USA costs much; therefore, the possibilities of a child to receive this education directly depend on the prosperity and the education level of his parents. It’s hard for the parents to earn decent money without good education. The vicious circle appears as a result. The prospects of any American depend on the income and education of his/her parents more, than the prospects of a resident of almost any other developed country. On the other hand, many people think that income inequality is not a problem and the American dream is not so important for America. They think that rich worked so hard before in order to get rich. So it’s fair that rich could buy fancy houses and vehicles. The poor should work harder to be successful. However, in fact, income inequality does affect our next generations directly. Poor families cannot afford school, get good education so they also cannot get a good job. After the World War II the “The GI Bill of Rights", the law signed by the president Franklin Roosevelt on June 22, 1944, was adopted in the USA. According to the law, the benefits, loan guarantees and payment for education, which expanded the opportunities of Americans to get higher education, were given to the demobilized veterans (Altschuler, Glenn C. and Blumin 118). As a result, 8 million veterans received perfect opportunities to get education that contributed to equality in the American society. After 1980 the poor started becoming even poorer, the growth of the income of the middle class stopped, and the rich in their turn started growing richer. Inequality between the poor families and those who lived in rich suburbs or those who were rather comfortable to send children to private schools, increased. As a result, the growing gap appeared between the qualities of children education. Difference in progress of rich and poor children increased during last years. Frank explains the connection between income and opportunities: The rich have been spending more simply because they have so much extra money. Their spending shifts the frame of reference that shapes the demands of those just below them, who travel in overlapping social circles. So this second group, too, spends more, which shifts the frame of reference for the group just below it, and so on, all the way down the income ladder. These cascades have made it substantially more expensive for middle-class families to achieve basic financial goals (Frank 582). This analysis helps understand and draw a conclusion that children from rich families still have more opportunities: they grow in more favorable environment; their families are able to pay the development occupations, for example, of a trip to summer camp, because they spend money more simply and can afford more. Their nutrition is good, the state of their health is supervised by highly paid doctors, and all these directly or indirectly promote their training. However, this is not the only problem of children from poor families. Certificate of Higher Education is crucial for receiving a god job. The American students can use loans to pay for education. Students are burdened with huge debts on a student's loan, and even bankruptcy can’t help get rid of them. The youth from poor families have an insoluble choice: if they don't graduate from college, their prospects in life will be very unenviable, and if they get an education, they will be doomed to live on the verge of ruin because of debt. After college the higher education certificate, which demands monetary investments, may be needed that leads to one more loan. The most disappointing thing is that the rich are sure that they should live better, because they deserve it as they managed to earn money. Such ideas worsen the situation. In the last decades America chose the political agenda that left the most vulnerable sectors of society behind. The growing concentration of wealth and considerable decrease of taxes on it did not allow investing in education and protection of children. The situation became even worse due to the financial situation in the USA. Official level of poverty in the country significantly grew in 2013. The number of Americans who were working or were looking for a job for in 2013, but still remained poor is also large. The youth at the age of 20-24 years are in the most difficult situation: poverty level in this category is the highest (Gabe). The unemployment rate among the schools graduates is growing rapidly. One more indicator of population distress significantly grew: the frequency of use of various discounts and benefits. Thus, the statement that the USA is the country of equal opportunities appears to be a myth. The real picture shows that many European countries have better opportunities and more social mobility. It seems the era of the American dream has come to the end. However, the American government has the tolls and opportunities to improve the situation. Special programs should be worked out by the government to increase the level of education for children from poor families, because the educated youth are the future of the country. The promises should not remain just promises, and “American dream” should not be just a dream, but a plan that will be brought to life, because it is the main reason of success of America on the international arena. Now the government is planning to start a serious struggle with poverty, namely, to increase the rate of income tax for rich Americans. Additional collecting for large business is also planned. The planned inflow, about 320 billion dollars during 10 years, is going to be directed at easier tax rules for poor Americans including payment for education (Allen). These measures are certainly not enough. Now is needed to reveal the way how not to make American dream come true for all who are now disappointed. The dream is a driving force of America and is very important for it, so it should not be left in the past. Reference Altschuler, Glenn C. and Blumin, Stuart M., The GI Bill: a new deal for veterans, New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Frank, Robert. “Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore." They Say/I Say. Ed. Gerald Graff, et al. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2012. 580-585. Print. Gabe, Thomas. Poverty in the United States: 2013. Congressional Research Service, 2015 Obama, Barack. "Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama." The White House. The White House, 21 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. Allen, Nick. Barack Obama goes after the one per cent with proposed $320 billion tax hike, 2015, Web March 17, 2015 This is a very strong first draft. You did a beautiful job presenting compelling evidence and providing logical reasoning in order to prove your argument. You also showed some style and creativity with a great introduction and conclusion. Well done! Here are my suggestions for revision: 1. Citation – It seems like you did a little outside research, which is fine. It is a technical subject, but please make sure you cite and double check your sources. 2. Underlying Assumption – As we discussed in class on Tuesday, looking at underlying assumption will give your paper the extra push it needs to truly succeed. Because the American Dream is such a crucial part of your essay, I think this is the easiest place to analyze. Why is the American Dream important? Is it just a catchy phrase or an essential part of our national identity? Exploring questions like this will help a lot, but also remember to do the “something/if” trick for finding your assumption, as we discussed in class. Adding more counterarguments might also help you reach this deeper analysis. 3. Misc. – There were a few other small but important issues to work on, such as explaining a quote or a statistic more. I commented on them above, so be sure to take a second look during the revision process. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Best, Read More