Is The American Dream Dead Analysis

What is the stereotypical “American Dream?” This “dream” is that people need to own a home, have a job, and have a sufficient amount of money. Equally as important, when they retire they should have no debt to pay off. They need to support themselves without a struggle or problem. This dream applies mostly to just the middle-class. People's way of life can be tremendously different from someone who lives just a couple miles down the street from them. And, what they desire, or their dream, for their life, can also be very different depending on who they ask. But, the real question is, is this dream still alive in the modern society today? No, this dream is not alive today; not everyone has a home, not everyone is financially stable, and not

An article titled, “Is the American Dream Dead?” by Mechele Dickerson, a professor of law, mentioned, “As homeownership rates have dropped, the number of renter households has grown” (Dickerson, 1). Instead of owning a home, many people rent houses to stay in. These places could be actual houses or apartment buildings. Since they did not buy the house, they do not own the land. Dickerson further mentioned, “Just a decade ago, these middle-income families might have become homeowners, but now they are putting pressure on the rental market because they can’t afford to buy” (Dickerson 1). The prices of homes has increased, forcing certain homeowners to sell their house and move to a rented one. Even if the person has a place to stay, they are still not apart of the American Dream. This is because the Dream says that the person has to have a home to live in. The same article said, to prove this, “Since the Great Depression, the American Dream has been linked to homeownership” (Dickerson 1). During the Great Depression in the early 1900s, many people lost their houses and were desperate to have one again. Their dream was to support their family with a home to protect them. Today, still numerous American do not have a home for themselves.That is the first reason why the American Dream is not alive in modern society

A former Wall Street executive, Richard Eskow, said on Alternet.org that, “If the American dream means a reasonable rate of income growth for working people, most people can’t expect to achieve it” (Eskow 1). Many jobs that people today have do not have the most beneficial pay. If they wanted to be apart of the Dream, they would need to have some kind of job that pays them well. They should have enough money to support themselves and their family, if they have one. This situation does not happen for everyone today. Equally as important Eskow wrote, “One-fifth of all employed Americans must find ways to supplement their income just to pay bills and buy groceries” (Eskow 1). This is showing that a lot of people do not earn enough money to even just pay for necessities. These people could be checking their balance in the bank to see how much they could spend possibly everyday. This is certainly not the American Dream. Author Mike Whitney wrote in “The American Dream is Dead” that, “Tell that to the 23-year old college grad who’s stuck delivering pizzas to try to put a dent in the $65,000 tab he ran up getting his Masters in engineering. See how much he believes in the Dream” (Whitney 1). This quote is very important because it shows a real life example of someone who is not financially stable. Since that boy has to pay off $65,000, he probably does not