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What Is The Impact Of Current Economic Challenges On The American Dream

934 Words4 Pages

Rylee Schmuck
Ms. Thomas
Honors English 11
11 May 2023
The Impact of Current Economic Challenges on the American Dream The American Dream, a culmination of future ideals that is defined uniquely by each individual, serves as a significant motivating factor in American society. Ordinarily, individuals find the motivation to work hard in hopes that one day they can create a better life for themselves. However, the attainability of this ultimate goal is where a gray area exists. With modern economic challenges, such as income inequality and the impact of COVID-19, the American Dream is being redefined because prior ideals are no longer easily attainable. While there is widespread agreement of the possibility of success if an individual is willing …show more content…

Another major issue lies with, racial inequalities impacting an individual’s pursuit of the American Dream. Beginning in 1931, James Truslow Adams coined the term, “The American Dream” (“The American Dream After COVID-19” 3). Adams maintained a strong belief, even during the back end of the Great Depression, that there was an equal opportunity for all citizens to rise in socioeconomic class if they worked hard enough. However, he neglected to acknowledge the racial inequalities that were influencing the non-whites’ and non-Protestants’ pursuit of the American Dream (“The American Dream After COVID-19” 3). What was happening in 1931 is still seen in modern times. Essentially, all of American society is working, but the white majority are commonly known to be the most successful and reap more benefits from the contributions of the entire …show more content…

After the initial economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was noted the number of individuals labeled “jobless” increased by approximately 3,000% in one month (“The American Dream After COVID-19” 2). With the lack of job opportunities, American citizens have no stream of income, therefore making them unable to pursue their personalized American Dream. Aside from losing their jobs, Americans also experienced an unexpected rise in healthcare costs (“The American Dream After COVID-19” 6). With the deadly virus forcing many individuals to rely on a ventilator to survive and then requiring some form of respiratory therapy to recover, it was easy for a family to receive an extremely high healthcare bill that they were not financially prepared to handle. Through the lifespan of the pandemic, even outside of race and gender inequalities, the workforce as a whole was discovering that goals were not as attainable as they once were (“The American Dream After COVID-19” 4). Financial impacts from the pandemic provided another layer of stress to an already at-risk

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