The New American Dream: The Possibility of Getting Out of Debt

Thursday, April 30, 2009

The New American Dream: The Possibility of Getting Out of Debt Current mood: irate Category: News and Politics The New American Dream: The Possibility of Getting Out of Debt The ideal of the American Dream shifted. It was to own a house, a car, or maybe a small business. More than that, it was a promise of a hearty middle class. It was the idea that one would find work, and satisfaction in it, and the he or she might have a nuclear family that was out of the house of mom and dad. Times have changed. Even the immigrants look elsewhere to find a job. We will not have to worry about keeping them out. Businesses like Wal-Mart and other megastores sought to pay people less than a living wage, enslaving workers. For every three small businesses that go under, it seems like there is another big one that stays. I wonder if my son is ever going to ask me, “Daddy, what is small business?” to which I will have to reply something like, “Small businesses existed back when Americans spoke of the American Dream.” Machines, computers and automation eat up work now, such that there is not much available. The cost of living rose dramatically. Wages have not risen. Without the jobs that now eaten up by running machines and computers, people are struggling more than ever. People that do inventory merely scan, and rarely have to check merely to see if there are any missing items. This is unfamiliar ground for my parents’ generation. If they lose their jobs now, then they are stuck. Nobody has the money to pay for aged workers that might be on their way out. However, many companies say more and more that if you do not have experience in a particular niche job, then do not even bother applying. As more and more people receive eviction letters from their homes, having been unable to pay bills. Those that lose their jobs are stuck with tremendous credit debt. The average US citizen has $7,000 in credit debt, and those numbers shoot up much too quickly if new work is not found right away, which is more and more becoming impossibility. The average US citizen has a total of $21,000 in credit debt. People that have PhDs often receive their degree having no less than seven credit cards. It amounts to this. There is a new American Dream, and this one is modest. The American Dream is now just the idea that one might be able to get out of debt. This is not the countries ten trillion dollar debt. This is other debt. This is what citizens owe beyond what politicians in government gave license. What do we do, add more laws to fix it? Many say that is the answer, but what politician has the guts to say something like, no taxes at all for small businesses, and all taxes will be paid by the big ones. That is the only decision that could possibly pull us through the mess. People have more debt than they can afford to pay off in any reasonable amount of time. With the Wal-Mart drain, any economic rebounds will only be for short periods. They are not sustainable because people do not have the money to sustain increased spending that fixes an economy. People are broke. Moneylenders are broke. There are a few select people having most of the money, and this group is shrinking. People get counseling that are falling out the upper middle class. Bigger governments eventually implode. That is as history lesson. Eventually, this government will go. There will be a period of anarchy. Then, a new system will establish. Time will tell if the USA does it sooner rather than later, as anti-American sentiments build among common workers. I feel bad for my son that has to go through this period. I look around and see so many disillusioned youth, much more than when I was a teen, but my generation became disillusioned.