Best of Rouges Magazine: RIP The American Dream

Welcome to our next installment in our Poverty Series!

If you feel like getting ahead or much of anyone in this country is harder than it was before, you’re feeling isn’t incorrectly placed. It’s right on par with where we are as a country now. The American Dream as we’ve known it is dead on arrival for many Americans. The death of this social contract has left many Americans on the sidelines wondering what is going to happen to them.

The American Myth

America has built quite a myth around personal accomplishment. The idea we are taught from our youth is that if we work hard, don’t go to jail and stay out of too much trouble then success can be ours with all the accessories that come with that. We extol the ideals of getting an education and a good-paying job and then keeping that job. In the recent past, having a job was enough to raise most people out of basic poverty. A job could provide housing, transportation, and a life. Over time, people were able to get promoted into higher positions and earn more money. Most people earn the least in their youth and then through working and gaining experience make the most of their lifetime earnings starting in their early 30s. Now, however, for many Americans this is simply not possible. Getting on the ladder to succes s In…