Juan Felix
Ms. Sutter
12 September, 2012
3°
American Dream
People risk it all to come to America and get a chance of living the American dream, but nowadays people value different things and benefits. Back in the day, before computers, people thought that the American Dream meant; owning a house, having a well paying job, and having two to three kids. Nowadays, in the 21st century, people seemed to have forgotten all the old values and replaced them with the newest technology. The American Dream for people, including myself, today would probably be; being wealthy, owning a huge house, and being able to retire properly.
Prices, though-out all goods, have sky rocketed in the last 30 years, and with the average American barely making enough to live comfortably. It gives no chances to be able to, not just buy all your needs, but to be able to buy your wants as well. Stated in, “Generation Screwed,” People nowadays are being into debt, roughly 50,000$ a person. The debt comes from old family members that have passed away and couldn’t afford to pay their final fees. With kids being born with debt, it doesn’t really give a great head start for that child’s education future. The real issue isn’t with all the debt, it’s with the high unemployment rate, when people lose their jobs, and they can’t pay their current fees. Jobs that usually go to newly graduated high school students are starting to get taken by newly graduated college students. Companies are starting to require a college degree to get hired, even if the degree you achieved as nothing to do with the job opening. “When unemployment goes up, it disenfranchises the younger generation” quoted from Kyle Storms in “Generation Screwed”.
For the first time in two generations, the dream of owning a home is being threatened. After the huge economy drop, in 2008, owning a home seems like an impossible task that only the wealthy can achieve. From the high unemployment rate to the inflation of home prices across the country, more and more people are losing their homes or can’t afford to buy one in the first place. Along with credit card debt, students that graduate college, graduate with an average of 27,000$ in student loans, which sets them far back from even having a down payment for a home. Owning a home is something that many people fear the most. Parents want to be able to leave a house to their children when they pass, but more and more Americans can’t afford to pay off their current homes.
Most people work their entire lives, after high school, in order to have a relaxed retirement. In 2008, during the downward spiral of the economy, peoples 401K, retirement plans, got cut virtually in half and the majority of elderly people had to go back to work. Dreams; of being able to retire and enjoy your remaining years of your life traveling the world, Seems like something only celebrities can do. Retirement has always been a huge part of an American Dream, but with the newer generations not being able to support themselves; older generations are being forced to go back to work just to survive.
It’s true that we risk it all, some more then others, to live our own version off the American Dream. But with the downward spiral the economy is in, everyone will have to start rethinking if their American Dream is even realistic. Without a change, future generations won’t even be able to extend their education past high school. College will be something that only the rich can afford.
