Is the American Dream dead?

[redfox]

Tonight on PBS.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...-for-survival/

From the website:
"In 1991, when Bill Moyers first began following the lives of Claude and Jackie Stanley, the parents of five had just been laid off from well-paying manufacturing jobs in Milwaukee.
They’ve been battling to keep from sliding into poverty ever since.
Two American Families, a 90-minute FRONTLINE documentary premiering July 9, tells the Stanleys’ story — and that of another Milwaukee family, the Neumanns — all the way up to the present, and raises troubling questions about trends toward part-time, low-wage work in America.
In this excerpt from Two American Families, meet Claude and Jackie, now approaching retirement age, and their son, Keith, now grown.
“My heart goes out to that generation that was promised something from America, by America — that they would have a better life. And that’s not the case anymore,” Keith tells Moyers.
Bill Moyers will appear tonight (June 26) on The Colbert Report to discuss Two American Families. The documentary premieres July 9 on FRONTLINE (check local PBS listings)."

[iris lilies]

Tonight on PBS.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...-for-survival/

The last count I heard was 10 million illegal aliens staying here to get--something. Some kind of dream they've got, tied into living in this country.
Plus there are the millions of approved and legal entries from residents of other countries across the world. Something here is right. Or else they are wrong.

[Alan]

I think the American Dream is there for anyone willing to do what it takes to achieve it. It always has been and always will be.

The opportunity for prosperity and success for those willing to work for it can only be limited by outside forces exerting control over their lives. Most likely, a Democrat majority.

[jp1]

The last count I heard was 10 million illegal aliens staying here to get--something. Some kind of dream they've got, tied into living in this country.
Plus there are the millions of approved and legal entries from residents of other countries across the world. Something here is right. Or else they are wrong.

It could be that something here IS right. Or maybe it's that something else in the country they came from is more wrong than here. Obviously the average US standard of living is still higher than lots of other countries. Nonetheless, the standard of living here is falling for lots of families, and in this era of globalization it will likely continue to fall until it reaches equilibrium with those countries.

[iris lilies]

Obviously the average US standard of living is still higher than lots of other countries. ....

Obviously! yep.

[jp1]

Obviously! yep.

Not sure what your point is. Do you mean that since it is still better than a lot of other countries we shouldn't care that it's falling?

[flowerseverywhere]

I think you should take the time to watch the show before commenting. It is very powerful and portrays people that really want to work and are having a tough time finding much beyond minimum wage. I thought it was very well done. Just today we heard from a friend in his fifties who has done everything right, saved in his 401K, paid off his house, stayed in a long term marriage, but as the years have gone by his job as well as his wives has stagnated and he has continued to go backwards. It is tough out there for a lot of good people. And by the way, they follow the families for years, through Bush, Clinton etc. so it is not political Alan.

[Rogar]

I didn't see the show, but it would be interesting to take some percentages of things like affordable housing, home ownership, poverty, nutrition, and affordable health care as trend items rather than single out a small sample size. I would suspect things are not all that bad, but could be proven wrong. There have been some boom years and bust years over the last few decades and things seem to go in cycles rather than an overall decline.

I think the "American Dream" is a moving target with higher standards now than a couple or few decades ago when the average home size was much smaller and cell phones, computers, internet, and cable TV didn't exist.

[redfox]

It's on here past my bedtime, but I am hoping to see it online. Here's an amazing bit of history from the turn of the last century,pertinent to the convo here-
http://www.upworthy.com/these-images...e-world?c=ufb1

[iris lilies]

Not sure what your point is. Do you mean that since it is still better than a lot of other countries we shouldn't care that it's falling?

A measure, a single number, doesn't have much meaning without comparing it to something else.

The OP, PBS in this documentary, and I believe you, choose to compare the American experience to what once was. Assuming that you are correct (and I don't assume that) there is less opportunity here than once was in the days of yore.

I choose to compare the measure of the American experience to the experience elsewhere in many countries.

Here, it is what it is. To give the number meaning we can choose to use glass half full or glass half empty comparisons. Like most things in life, it's a choice.

I also think it's worthwhile to "care" about the American experience as measured in many ways, not just what once was.