Is the American Dream Dead: the Way We Can Resuscitate It

The gap between the richest and the poorest in the United States is increasing since past 40 years — killing the American Dream. America supposed to be a land of opportunity, however compared to other developed countries, it has highest level of economic inequality. For example, despite the fact that United States spends highest amount on health, life expectancy in United States is still lower than other developed countries. The quality of life of youth in United States is determined by the social status of his or her parent’s, way more than in any other developed countries. In this 'Is the American Dream Dead?' essay, I explore the notion that the traditional American Dream may no longer be attainable for many people in today's society.

We are under the hands of unfair system. Economic inequality is referred to a gap between the incomes of rich and poor which leads to disproportion of lower- and middle-class families to wealthier families. This is a major issue in United States because it affects all the social classes except the richest on top, by limiting the opportunities for those at lower end to change their social status. The income growth of top 1 percent grew faster than those at the bottom 90 percent. In fact, the top 1 percent income has increased by times 4 whereas the income of bottom 90 percent has been adjusted for inflation and thus remain same as they were 60 years ago. Although, beyond our control forces, such as technology and globalization are to be blamed for increasing economic inequality, the disturbing truth is that it is our rules and regulation that have caused such interval in social classes. Our economic policies are designed to favor rich over poor, where rich is getting richer and everyone else is falling behind.

Lower life expectancy due to hopelessness. Due to high economic inequality, life expectancy of Americans is declining as well. Families in the bottom 50 percent don’t even have emergency funds in case of emergencies. Despite of medical advancements in United States, average American cannot afford to get treatment and therefore such medical advancements are only beneficial for rich people. According to economists Angus Deaton and Anna Case, drug overdose, alcoholism and suicides are main causes of lower life expectancy and are by those who are hopeless.

One more reason why I believe that the American Dream is Dead is due to inequality of opportunities in United States. It is incompatible with the American dream. The ability to achieve more than one’s parents did is no longer doable now due to economic inequality and expensive higher education. Education increases income and those with only high school degree tend to have lower incomes.

Now let's discuss inequality in America and other developed nations. There are many explanations provided by economists on why inequality is rising in United States. First, advanced technology is to be blamed for displacing unskilled workers and increasing demand for skilled workers thus contributing to wage inequality. However, this explanation is not satisfying enough, as even the skilled workers’ income growth remained same in the past two decades. Moreover, advanced technology is available in other developed nations as well, but the income inequality is much worse in United States. Second, globalization is to be blamed for shifting low-skilled jobs from developed countries to developing countries. For instance, labor is very cheap in China and therefore big companies place their firms in China and provide job opportunities there, taking away opportunities in United States as company owners put profits ahead of workers. However, globalization has also impacted other developed nations, but its impact is much worse in United States compared to other developed nations.

We don’t have power over our wages. The main reason for rising inequality globally is largely due to economic policies which have designed to favor the rich only, however these policies are further skewed in United States. For instance, workers in United States already had low control on their wages compared to other developed nations, however now it is even worst as companies are dominating markets, diminishing employee bargaining power. This is due to economic policies made by policy makers who are also part of skewed political system.

Money forces people to be selfish. Laws of companies in United States are designed in such a way that allow company workers on top to assign themselves extraordinary higher salaries compared to the workers on lower end. The difference between higher income workers and the average workers in United States is way more than in other developed companies. Banking polices are also made to favor rich only. For instance, high interest rates that one has to pay for loans and high fees that merchants pay for debit and credit card transactions favor rich bank owners. Tax policies are also designed to favor businessmen and investors over salary-based workers. In fact, according to new president Trump’s tax bill, highly paid workers pay less taxes than lower paid workers. Surely that is beneficial for him!

So, is the American dream dying? Fighting economic inequality in United States is not easy but is definitely possible. As suggested above, inequality in United States is linked with political system and therefore it is necessary to take money out of politics by ensuring that policy makers and regulators are kept out of industries. Investing in people is good way to increase individual wealth and close the gap between rich and poor. This can be achieved if education is accessible to all Americans and not just to privileged. If everyone can afford higher education, individual wealth will increase as we know high school graduates are paid least. Company policies should be changed as well that protect workers right and are not skewed to favor only the employees on top positions. Tax bills need a reform as well to ensure that top 1 percent is also paying fair taxes so burden can be lifted from average Americans. Medical treatments are no longer affordable for average Americans which is reflected in lower life expectancy of Americans; thus, healthcare must be accessible to everyone. These political changes will take time but will close the gap between the rich and poor gradually.