Is The American Dream Attainable For Everyone Essay

Is the American Dream attainable for everyone in the United States? Depending on what your idea of the American Dream is it is attainable for everyone. If you are referring to the American dream as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then yes the American dream is possible. If your idea of the American dream is a home in the suburbs, with a wrap-around porch and a white picket fence then the America Dream is not attainable for everyone. What the American dream is comes down to perspective and it also reflects the current economy.
In most cases, the American Dream is observed to be homeownership, a picture-perfect family, a college-educated workforce, and vacations to Disney World. “If you ask most people around the world what they

Sadly, in most Americans, this is an unattainable goal mostly due to the circumstances form which one comes from. The lineage of a person and the society from which economic injustice thrives often keeps the majority of Americans.” As income inequality has increased substantially since the 1970s, the American dream has begun to seem less attainable for those who aren't already affluent or born into affluence. According to U.S. Census family income data, real family income began to grow much more among the top income group than among other segments of American society.” (Barone) This is a prime example of how circumstance vs. status is alive in our society and play such an important part of the American Dream. How often have we seen a family who was born into poverty and trapped by the government systems such as welfare and section 8, stay on that same pathway and raises children who are also dependent on the government provided systems in order to live tot eh style that they are accustomed. This is primarily due to the fact that these systems are designed to assist but not provide and many of our younger generation are interested in something for free instead of hard work and dedication. I do think that social injustices such as poverty and systematic inequality have played a large role in the idea of an American Dream that is

They longed and yearned for a life where they sought college educations, all-inclusive vacations, and early retirement. This is not exactly what we are seeking in this generation. “The “traditional” factors (at least as I had understood them) were seen as less important. Only 16 percent said that to achieve the American dream, they believed it was essential to “become wealthy,” only 45 percent said it was essential “to have a better quality of life than your parents,” and just 49 percent said that “having a successful career” was key.” (Engle) These numbers are exponentially different from similar polls taken only a decade or two