The American DreamThe American Dream is the idea for any person, no matter race, color, or creed to become wealthy in a society by hard work and dedication. The idea starts when you’re a child if you see your parents working and earning a living.
The idea absorbs in the childs head to do good in life, so he can succeed and do the same things as them. It all starts when you are 22 coming out of college. During those four years of college you choice your career and hopefully adept to it. After you graduate the job hunt begins with hundreds of people competing for the same spot and you hope that your number one so you can get the job.
If you’re lucky enough to get the position you have to work hard to adapt to the condition of working, and do good enough to keep the job. Hopefully after hard work for a few years you meet a girl and marry and start a family, and your life goes on. Why? Has the freedom to choose and freedom from want disappeared? Is the American Dream, equality of opportunity, comfort, and success, gone for the new generation. Recent pieces in the news media label this Generation X or the Twenty-something Generation.
(Issue One: Historical Economic Forces, pg. 32. )I agree and disagree with the statement. There are many good things going for this generation. One example is that the students are being more educated, they are learning from computers and TVs, not only from the teacher. Slightly more than 23% of this twenty-something Generation has completed 4 years of college.
We have enormous knowledge and power in which we have not even started to use. This American Dream is as much ours as any other generation. It is a potent and long standing part of our nations secular faith. Chasing the Dream is an act of devotion that all people, regardless of their sectarian beliefs can perform. ( Issue One: Historical Economic Forces, pg.
32. (Cohen 6-8)One key issue that is declining the development of the United States is poverty. Although it has been a major factor for the last 150 years it is still bothering our economy. The federal governments role in fighting poverty did not begin until the Great Depression of the 1930s, after Black Tuesday and the market crash. President Franklin Roosevelt introduced a program to bring the United States back on its feet.
He introduced federally funded programs suck as social security, unemployment insurance, and job programs to help needy American. During the next fifty years, social programs mushroomed. Today, the federal government helps low-income and retired Americans by supplementing their incomes, paying their medical bills, issuing coupons for food, and helping them find jobs. However, as poverty has gotten worse for many Americans and the cost of these social programs continues to grow, many have called for a reevaluation of governments role in reducing poverty. (Poverty issue pg.
81) This current year, with President Bill Clinton has been a good year for the economy. The unemployment level is very low, and this is the first year we have ever decreased the budget. One of the big social programs today that helps the economy grow is Health Care. Medicaid and Medicare were established in 1965 as part of the Great Society.
Medicaid provides people with low incomes with free or subsidized medical care. Medicaid payments, which are funded jointly by federal and state governments, totaled $91. 9 billion in the fiscal year of 1994. Medicare pays health care benefits to more than 22 million older and disabled Americans.
The government allotted almost $133 billion for Medicare payments in fiscal year 1994. (Poverty Issue, pg. 85)The Supplementary Security Income program, created in 1974, provides cash benefits for persons who are blind or disabled, older Americans, and other with special needs and low incomes. In 1994, the federal government paid $19.
4 billion through this program to about six million people. (Poverty Issue, pg. 85)One major downfall to the economy is the unemployment factor. The unemployment picture is the worst in the cities.
Unskilled workers can no longer easily find employment in manufacturing. Many blue-collar jobs have gone to the suburbs. The
