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Does the "American Dream" still exist?

PJ_SalukiPJ_Saluki Posts: 1,006
edited March 2008 in A Moving Train
If so, what's yours? Or, why don't you think it still exists?
"Almost all those politicians took money from Enron, and there they are holding hearings. That's like O.J. Simpson getting in the Rae Carruth jury pool." -- Charles Barkley
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Comments

  • melodiousmelodious Posts: 1,719
    Ola, well, that question is all about which American is dreaming? In my case, yes....because I am learning to live in presentime...

    But I did read somewhere a while back (I think at Carolyn Baker's site) that the idea of a young couple purchasing and paying off a home or piece of property in the future will be a memory of the past....

    For those who have achieved this dream, Congrats...you don't have to pay rent, but watch out because of eminant domain....cities love to use that card...

    Great thread starter....
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  • cornnifercornnifer Posts: 2,130
    Only for a select few whose dream it is to exploit the working poor for their own benefit.
    "When all your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse... better find yourself a place to level out."
  • blackredyellowblackredyellow Posts: 5,889
    The dream does exist, but I think it is a bit harder of a reach than a generation ago. In my parents and grandparents times, if you worked hard (very hard), you could get and keep a good paying job, and buy a house and work your way up to a level of financial security.

    Now, to get a good job, it takes a (usually very expensive) college degree, and housing prices are so high, that it makes it hard to afford to buy a house. And even if you land a good job, there is no job security and things like health care expenses only make you a few step away from losing everything.

    It seems to me like back in the day, you worked for years to save money to buy a house, now you work for years to get some debt paid off before you buy a house and get much further in debt.
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  • Urban HikerUrban Hiker Posts: 1,312
    What I recall as being the 'American Dream' is unsustainable. House, good job and 2.5 kids.

    =

    Incredible strain on our resources. We don't have room for everyone to have their own freestanding home (without great detriment to the natural environment) and we are overpopulated as it is without people replacing themselves, plus a little extra.

    The American Dream needs to be redefined. Hopefully, to include sustainable lifestyles and the end of BUYING into everything the corporations would like to have us bound by.
    Walking can be a real trip
    ***********************
    "We've laid the groundwork. It's like planting the seeds. And next year, it's spring." - Nader
    ***********************
    Prepare for tending to your garden, America.
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