Kyliegh Yerby
New Mexico State University- Carlsbad
Author Note
This paper was prepared for English 111G, taught by Kathy Greenwood.
The American Dream of Today
The American dream has evolved into a new image in the eyes of Bob Herbert(2010), Cal Thomas(2010), Brandon King(2011), and Paul Krugman(2007). Thomas(2010) states that the original American dream “meant building a life based on the foundational principles”(p. 568). James Truslow Adams stated that the American dream is defined as “a dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement, regardless of social class or circumstances of birth” (1931). According …show more content…
The rich are “financial foreigners” in America (p.589). The upper class have their own, “health-care system (concierge doctors), travel network (Net jets, destination clubs), and separate economy. The middle-class is affected way more than the upper-class. Lots of people are going bankrupt in the middle-class not because they are buying luxuries, but because they are purchasing houses they really can’t afford. Why? Because they want their kids to be in the good school districts, trying to eliminate social inequality (p.590). Low income families are hit the hardest, they are more likely to be uninsured, have health problems, lack of nutrition and social support, distractions that end worse due to weakness of our safety net, and uneven quality of education (p.592). Krugman states, “equality of opportunity, not equality of results” (p.592). This is true, all Americans are offered the same but based on our income if you can or not. A great example is the percentage of finishing college of parents in the top and bottom quartiles; for the bottom quartile it ranged from a 3-29% and for the top quartile parents it ranged from 30-74%. They are both offered to go but due to socioeconomic status the lower class tends to