October 15, 2015Online-English Comp IWhat does the American DreamMean What does the American Dream mean? This is what analyzing the observations of author Tim Roemer can help us better to understand the writings of Brandon King.
Brandon King writes in his article,The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or onHold?, of the American Dream on both the negative side and positive side of what it does look like. Time Roemer, the writer of,America Remains the World’s Beacon of Success,tells the American Dream’s negatives and positives in his writingthought hethroughtheeyes of a foriegner. itcould look like to the American people and what it can look like through a foreigner’s eyes. King writes to us telling us of how inequality is one of America’s issues. King tells us, “.
. that wealth is concentrated into the hands of a rich minority” (pg. 612). He quotes Paul Krugman saying, ” ‘ The lion’s share of economic growth in America over the past thirty years has gone to a small, wealthy minority.
. . the lack of clear economic progress for lower and middle income families is in itself an important reason to seek a more equal distribution of income'” (pg. 612). Onthe flip side King also writes of what President Obama did last year, he wrote, “.
. presented a proposal, later passed by Congress, establishing a $33 billion tax credit to provideincentives for businesses to hire more workers and increase existing wages” (pg. 613). Whichwould then allow for more employment which would stimulate the economy more.
Roemer takes a similar outlook of Kingoftaking into consideration some of the negatives that are going on in American to hinder the American mindset of the American Dream. The negatives that some American’scarry that Roemer writes about in his article about the outlook that the American people have in comparison to what the Indian people have. He writes, “Consequently, I have been appalled by the gloom of thoseprdictingthat America’s greatest days are behind us,. These sentiments seep through our society, from pundits to parents at my daughter’s basketball game, as people complain they are “depressed” that our children will be left behind by the United states’ ‘decline'” (pg.
618). I have heard this as well, not at a basketball game, but at a baseball game. It seems that the middle class Americans can think of a time when life seemed to be more prosperous to them, but now it is not and we must save for our future. He continues on to write of other areas where America could focus on such as infrastructure, schooling, and growingdeficit. Alltroubling things that can make the American people look down on our country.
I believe that the writing of Roemer helps us to understand the writing of King, when he also writes about what is wrong withAmericanand how that affects the viewpoint of the American people, but not in the eyes of the foreigner. Kingexplores the issue of what economic growth looks like in reflection to the American Dream. He writes, “Looking at the fragile economy today, it is tempting to focus on the unevenness of the recovery: the stock market has made impressive rebounds in recent months, but he unemployment rate remains high” (pg. 612).
,This is one area the stock market where King is writing that we are making rebounds. He continues to write” . . . economists and politicians argue that supporting the richest sectors of the American economy will bringeconomic stability and a full recovery.
Theyclaim that a sizable income gap does not necessarily prevent individuals in the lower and middle classes from achieving the American Dream” (pg. 613). The contributes to his overall concept that the American dream could be alive or on hold because the economist and politicians see things that could help our economy to grow. Roemerhelps us to explore how a foreigner sees our growth even thoughasKing writes the American people struggle seeing it at times. Roemer writes about a time when he was with a group of a three dozen business millionaires, ” I asked a simple question: Which market would you most like to access? Almost unanimously, the answer was the United States.
” (pg. 620). He continues, ” U. S.
companies remain world leaders in information technology, bioscience, nanotechnology and aerospace”(pg. 620). Heis telling us that foreigner’s see our growth as expanding and growing. He does also write, “Our huge GDP is no accident. We have a market-orientated economy where most decisions are made independently by individuals and individual businesses. Roemer says even though American may have it’s flaws as does the rest of the world, our economy is free and is able to grow how the American people want it to grow.
He writes about other countries such as China who has the government controlling their markets and in Europe where businesses have to jump through a lot of red tape. This also supports how the American Dream is still alive, the fact where we do have freedoms. Kingcontinues in his essay the overall argument that the American Dream is alive, but it is all about perception. He writes, “.
72 percent of Americans still believed it was possible to start poor, work hard, and become rich in America” (pg. 611). Thisis the outlook of what the image of the image of the American Dream looks like. He shows how Americans are changing their lifestyles to better achieve the American Dream. King writes, ” a recent study showed a decrease in home ownership from 69% in 2005 to about 66. 5% in 2010, and an increase in renterhouseholds of 1.
1 million” (pg. 611). He continues, “Americans are scrutinizing their spending habits more intensely. .
. “(pg. 611-612). He gives this example to show how Americans are adjusting to a different lifestyle. He does also write about economist Cal Thomas response to inequatlity issues by writing,,”.
. ‘The rules for achieving the American Dream may no longer be taught and supported by culture, but that doesn’t meant hat they don’t work”(pg. 614) . Roemersheds light on what King is writing about when he writes about his experiences in India. Roemer writes.
“True we feel the pain of our setbacks and fear that we are losing ground. . . . . I met Indian students at schools or living in slums, they consistently told me American is the place where they most want to study”(pg.
619). This supports that the image of the American Dream is alive and it is being wished for not only by Americans, but also by foreigners as well. Roemer also inserts facts such as, “The United states has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, a per capita gross domestic product of $47,200 and gross national purchasing power that equals those of China and Japan” (pg. 619). We are still a super power in the global outlook, which supports the American Dream image of it truly not being dead. The American Dream is alive, both authors present facts and outlooks of what theAmericanDream looks like through he eyes of an American and also of a foreigner.
No matter where you may come from, most people wish for the American Dream so it is and they set their mind to it. I liked when King wrote, “The American Dream will continue to exist as part of the American psyche, not artificially stimulated by government regulations to change incomedistributions. Words CitedKing, Brandon. “The American Dream: Dean, Alive, or on Hold?”. They Say/I Say. Ed.
Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2015. 466-470. Print.
Roemer, Tim. “America Remains the World’s Beacon of Success”. They Say/I Say. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. NY: W.
W. Norton & Company, 2015. 462-465. Print.
