Ldalh, is it possible that you didn't read the survey? The measures for the American Dream according to the survey were, having personal freedom, having basic needs met, achieving one's potential, having enough free time, being in harmony with nature, and achieving affluence (in that order). Those seem pretty universal to me, although some are slightly intangible.
It was a composite of 1800 different dreams, with considerable variation. I'm curious about the 22% who didn't value personal freedom.Originally Posted by Rogar
As we saw in the just passed budget bill it's a shovel that requires both parties to be able use it. They won't agree on anything else - but they will agree to use the shovel.
And it's a shovel that requires responsibility from both parties. it's easy to say "just cut the budget and stop spending" but not so easy, or responsible to do. What would you cut? Some trot out SS and Medicare and Food stamps, and other not all that expensive comparability programs to either really cut (not gonna happen) or scare us into stopping the cut talk.
I can think of a few areas to start that would really help without punishing the majority of Americans. How about stop supporting Israel. This should be a no brainier for the republicans since Israel has universal health care and the most lax abortion policies in the world. Guess who's paying for that? Us.
Let's stop farm subsidies. Sure your food bill will jump, but if you want to stop government spending, you gotta know it will come back in some other way.
Let's stop oil subsidies cause, well, why are we doing this in the first place?
Let's cut military spending. Here is an area where waste is really a problem as in do we really need yet another trillion dollar ship when we have plenty already? (now here is one of those areas where the politicians will try to scare us away from talks of cutting by saying sure, let's cut troop pay or medical care or some other military personnel spending area)
And many other areas where we can cut spending without damaging We the People.
On the other side, let's reinstate the taxes Bush cut. Let's tax churches (and allow each individually to apply for non-profit status) Let's close loopholes that allow businesses who benefit from American markets hide profits overseas to avoid taxes. And many more I can't think of right now.
More ideas?
I just thought it was an interesting snapshot of what Americans might be thinking. We've had a chance to voice our personal vision of what the American dream might be in the discussion, and whether it is harder to achieve, which is the basic topic of the discussion. The survey addresses a wider audience, and for that reason I found it interesting. I glanced through the survey protocol. The design probably would not stand up to the scrutiny of Gallop Poll scientist, but didn't appear to be too much out of line. So it is possibly just 1800 individual people as you say, or a representation of a much larger population, which is the intention of a small polling sample.
hard to have much personal freedom without having basic needs, and I mean just that not smart phones etc. met, possibly they mean political freedom ...The measures for the American Dream according to the survey were, having personal freedom, having basic needs met
hard to have any real sense of personal or political for that matter freedom with no free time either.achieving one's potential, having enough free time
Really as for the American dream being harder to achieve, I'm more likely to learn toward things never were all that good in this country for many, there's always been a lot of poverty etc..
People do of course risk their lives to go many countries and of course very much including present day Germany, it's where all the Syrian refugees would like to end up probably, a very popular final destination, not that that is necessarily realistic for them all to live there of course.
Trees don't grow on money
This is true. I think the American dream is something that we need to start at a base parameter then go from there. I think for the American dream the base is not just living hand to mouth. Making enough so you can pay your basic bills with a few discretionary bucks for whatever. (savings, summer vacations, hobbies, whatever says living to you) I'm not talking making a killing, but more than just subsistence living. With subsistence living, not only are you not able to save/enjoy some aspect of American Dream, but something as trivial as a car repair or necessary dental work can put you in debt that is almost impossible to dig yourself out of (considering your already subsistence living). Now add that to all the other little things that come up in day to day life and soon you are drowning. The deeper the water, the less chance you have of making it to shore. And when your entire family is floundering, for generations, the deeper the water becomes and the farther away the shore becomes.
I don't want to pretend i have the answers, cause i don't. i really don't. wish i did. but i can have empathy, and if that's all i can offer now, then that's it. And i can see policy that helps the situation, or hurts it. I try to vote for the policy that helps.
Seeing as how it is politicians who so fervently preach the gospel of the American Dream.....it is damned easy for any living breathing American to see the hypocrisy in their conjuring up spirits of the past poor who rose through the tattered ranks, sailed past the satisfied middle class, Cruised past the common rich and landed atop the heap of the 1%.
Like our dear friend and co-dreamer Donald Trump who had just the slimmest of chances to succeed with only a million dollar boost from his wealthy father. Now here is a man I can follow up the ladder of success through hard work and determination. Nose to the grindstone.....I get a bloody nose.
All one has to do is apply the simple formula for dreamers. Let's see.
1. Get a job. Preferably one that hasn't been outsourced yet, one that hasn't been eliminated by a robot, one that doesn't require going into ten years of debt to get a degree. But not a minimum wage one. And stay away from evil unions. Overtime, holiday pay, sick leave, defined benefit pensions and the like are for pussies.
2. Don't rely on any government subsidy. Government is the problem. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and March onward and upward. However, big government is a good thing when it comes to the military. Or bailing out really disgusting bankers. You have to know when big government is good for you and when it is not. Usually, if it helps you acquire your dream....it's BAD. Your dream must be acquired through hard work.
3. Take responsibility for your own future. Save your own money. Give your hard earned cash to the Wall Street guys and they will make more of it for you. Enough that maybe you can retire at oh say....82. Of course, it's better for you to take the risk. It is your dream after all.
4. Never mind the benefits those ahead of you are getting. We can't afford to keep that going. Besides if you are truly working hard and wisely investing you won't need help paying your medical bills when you get older and you will have plenty to get by with without Social Security.
5. Your ascension through the social classes is dependent on government keeping the rules beneficial for the rich. THe more they make, the better your life will be. I know, it sounds funny that fewer and fewer should be getting richer and richer and somehow that all makes things for you better.and better..but hey, Milton Friedman said so ....so it must be true.
and so, just leave it to the rich....they will make sure you get rich too. Y'OK !
+500
You know, up till now, I hadn't realized that I was a victim, that I and my progeny haven't actually achieved more than our parents and grandparents. I thought I was living the American Dream. I feel so silly!
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
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