The end of the American dream?

[California Girl]

Hmmm I guess I was right huh?

'You'?

Where, in any of your posts on this thread, do you analyse academic economic research and draw your own conclusions from that research?

All you do is link to information and, by some 'reason' that is obvious only to you, you think that information belongs to you.

Jeeeeeeeez, you are one dumb bitch. Seriously.

 

[Madeline]

In my view, the American Dream is "my kids will do better than I have" and we are in danger of losing it. I look around my own family and we have one 37 year old who lives with his parents and makes minimum wage at a factory. A kid who has a Masters in Ed but cannot find a teaching job...and will be crushed by debt when those student loans come due and owing. Another who did find a teaching job, in a public school where she isn't safe, and now lives in a neighborhood where she isn't safe because her salary won't pay for better housing.

It's the same at almost all my friends' houses. And we don't know what to tell these kids, how to advise them so they can make it into the middle class. We see ourselves as we age helping to support them, helping to raise our own grandkids, and believe me, it is sad.

It seems to me more and more it is reasonably easy for wealthy parents to ensure a wealthy lifestyle for their kids...but harder and harder for middle class parents to assure a middle class lifestyles for theirs. And for poor parents? Their kids seem to me to have less chance of escaping poverty of any decade I can recall.

 

[Skull Pilot]

I think it more aptly shows your complete misunderstanding of what the American Dream is.

The American Dream essentially means that given the economic and politcal make up of this country one can come here and achieve anything.

And, no matter how hard you work, or how smart you are, you still can't do it without one crucial thing: luck.

Too bad so many have fallen for the lie that luck doesn't matter.

Successful people make their own luck. It's funny how the harder one works, the luckier he is.

 

[Douger]

Why work ? Become a politician.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD6n_uXkAYU[/ame]

 

[HUGGY]

The end of the American dream?


Wake up TM. You just had a bad dream. Everything will be fine.. Have a cup of hot cocoa and go back to sleep.

 

[loosecannon]

This is an over-reaction.

There have been periods throughout American history when economic growth skewed to capital and other times when it skewed to labor. We are in one of those times where economic growth is biased towards the owners of capital.

But the fundamental backbone of the US economy is strong, and will be so for decades to come.

Nothing personal but, NO! That's the same silly naivety that was "shocked" by the financial crisis.

The basic backbone of the American economy is horribly weak and likely to either decay and slowly crumble for decades or merely collapse.

We simply can't address our deficits and debt, we have little in the way of competitive industry left, our wages are still too high and costs of doing business way to high to even attempt to compete in many industries, we still have twin deficits eroding our wealth, our world reserve currency status is weakening, unemployment will hover between 9% and 11% until a large % of the baby boomers leave the workforce, our medical costs are still skyrocketing, we may already be suffering a brain drain, Our investments in R&D are currently low as corps are hoarding cash and cutting overhead.

Our national business model has begun to fail, and complete failure is now inevitable. SS, Medicare, the debt, our debt based fiat currency and monetarist schemes are all unsustainable.

And there is no hope, nothing to promise dramatic improvement even on the distant horizon.

And the global picture looks much, much worse. Nearly half the world's pop still lives on less than $3/day, and we are rapidly approaching an impasse between population explosion and resource depletion curves.

Face it, when you are 5% of the world's people but consume 25% of the earth's resources, and the population bomb detonates there is nowhere to go but down.

 

[loosecannon]

Successful people make their own luck. It's funny how the harder one works, the luckier he is.

You can be lucky enough, crooked enough or smart enough to earn $million in a year, or to become a billionaire in one lifespan.

But you can't "work hard enough" to do it. It can't be done.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Successful people make their own luck. It's funny how the harder one works, the luckier he is.

You can be lucky enough, crooked enough or smart enough to earn $million in a year, or to become a billionaire in one lifespan.

But you can't "work hard enough" to do it. It can't be done.

Define work.

Starting a business is work. Try it one day.

 

[chanel]

Is a million dollars a year now the goal of working people? No wonder they're frustrated.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Is a million dollars a year now the goal of working people? No wonder they're frustrated.

very few people earn that kind of dough working for someone else. But it's possible for anyone to become a millionaire or even a multi-millionaire in a lifetime.

 

[California Girl]

In my view, the American Dream is "my kids will do better than I have" and we are in danger of losing it. I look around my own family and we have one 37 year old who lives with his parents and makes minimum wage at a factory. A kid who has a Masters in Ed but cannot find a teaching job...and will be crushed by debt when those student loans come due and owing. Another who did find a teaching job, in a public school where she isn't safe, and now lives in a neighborhood where she isn't safe because her salary won't pay for better housing.

It's the same at almost all my friends' houses. And we don't know what to tell these kids, how to advise them so they can make it into the middle class. We see ourselves as we age helping to support them, helping to raise our own grandkids, and believe me, it is sad.

It seems to me more and more it is reasonably easy for wealthy parents to ensure a wealthy lifestyle for their kids...but harder and harder for middle class parents to assure a middle class lifestyles for theirs. And for poor parents? Their kids seem to me to have less chance of escaping poverty of any decade I can recall.

Interestingly, the more 'European' we become, the less likely it is that we achieve our 'American Dream'. Go figure.

 

[chanel]

Maybe people will learn to save again. Maybe they'll learn not to buy every new techno gadget that comes out. Maybe they'll buy a house they can afford on one salary. Maybe they'll have their kids work summer jobs. And someday, maybe they'll teach our leaders how to live within their means. I have a dream...

 

[loosecannon]

Successful people make their own luck. It's funny how the harder one works, the luckier he is.

You can be lucky enough, crooked enough or smart enough to earn $million in a year, or to become a billionaire in one lifespan.

But you can't "work hard enough" to do it. It can't be done.

Define work.

Starting a business is work. Try it one day.

done it all my life, but nobody "earns" a $million in one year, becomes a billionaire in one lifespan via work alone.

You have to be smart, lucky, or crooked. Work wont get it done.

 

[HUGGY]

The end of the American dream?


Stinkin defeatist thinkin TM.

It's not over until WE say it's over!

 

[Skull Pilot]

The end of the American dream?


Stinkin defeatist thinkin TM.

It's not over until WE say it's over!

[youtube]V8lT1o0sDwI[/youtube]

 

[topspin]

Skull is the winner here. I'll tell you people about luck, all the luck you will ever need in your life is being born in this country. That alone puts you ahead of 99% of the worlds population. And your free to make your own destiny. 80% of millionaires own businesses like Skull does, but 20% are fastidious savers/investors like me. Fireman and school teachers do it all the time.
Excuses are for losers, there are an infinite number of ways to win in the USA.

 

[Douger]

Does brainwashing hurt much ?
There WAS an infinite number of ways to win in the USA.
There still is. Buy a plane ticket and move your business to Asia or South America.....with an "A".
There you have a far better educated work force willing to work at a reasonable level of pay.
I didn't say China. Fuck China.

 

[topspin]

Does brainwashing hurt much ?
There WAS an infinite number of ways to win in the USA.
There still is. Buy a plane ticket and move your business to Asia or South America.....with an "A".
There you have a far better educated work force willing to work at a reasonable level of pay.
I didn't say China. Fuck China.

I have nothing against losers like you Douger, you ran that's your right. America is getting better not worse. Pathetic quiter losers have to blame someboyd why not blame the "man".

 

[loosecannon]

Skull is the winner here. I'll tell you people about luck, all the luck you will ever need in your life is being born in this country. That alone puts you ahead of 99% of the worlds population. And your free to make your own destiny. 80% of millionaires own businesses like Skull does, but 20% are fastidious savers/investors like me. Fireman and school teachers do it all the time.
Excuses are for losers, there are an infinite number of ways to win in the USA.

if you define "win" as making a $million in one year or becoming a billionaire in one lifespan then "working hard" isn't one of those ways.

You can do it via luck, smarts, or being a crook, but not thru hard work.

 

[topspin]

Skull is the winner here. I'll tell you people about luck, all the luck you will ever need in your life is being born in this country. That alone puts you ahead of 99% of the worlds population. And your free to make your own destiny. 80% of millionaires own businesses like Skull does, but 20% are fastidious savers/investors like me. Fireman and school teachers do it all the time.
Excuses are for losers, there are an infinite number of ways to win in the USA.

if you define "win" as making a $million in one year or becoming a billionaire in one lifespan then "working hard" isn't one of those ways.

You can do it via luck, smarts, or being a crook, but not thru hard work.

I see your a loser. A teacher and a fireman can work hard for decades investing and become millionaires it's done daily. Maybe you need a cookie from your mommy