From the years of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, to the decades of World Wars, until present America a small saying has prevailed throughout: The American Dream. The American Dream has inspired generation among generation even before it came to be in 1931 by James Truslow Adams. The American Dream of equal opportunity and gaining the fullest stature attainable based off work ethic and individual achievements is questioned by many on whether it’s still alive. It’s imperative to look at both sides of the spectrum of why people believe the American Dream is both dead and alive, but it’s most crucial to also consider the thought that the American Dream has merely changed. The American Dream of opportunity based off capability is alive, but due to an ever-changing social market economy it is impossible to compare the virtues of the Old Dream to the New Dream. It is also impossible to hold the same values of the Dream during a different time and expect the same results. It’s people who refuse to change with the economy and refuse to adapt, that believe that the American Dream is dead. I believe that to see the new American Dream, we as a nation must combat the problems of economic and racial discrimination to help the millennial generation. In addition, we must redefine this changed American Dream to fit the world in which we live in, and to hopefully inspire other countries.  

Steve Tobak states the sobering statistic that half of Americans, from the age of 18 to 29, believe that the American Dream is not alive. Considering that this Dream is thought to be dead by half of what people call “the future of America” sends chills straight to the bones. The American Dream is unique because it is not defined by one specific entity, but centralized by the most credible version of it issued by James Truslow Adams, “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement” (Tobak). The main fact in existence, which is self- evident yet ignored, is that equal opportunity will be given to people with the ability to achieve and that alone. Two high school students will be given the same opportunity due to their experience level and life skills just as a college student will receive the same opportunity level as another college peer. Equal opportunity does not mean that every person will have the opportunity to make millions, but will have the opportunity to have a fulfilling life with continuous achievements. The most important part of this egalitarian idea is that the American Dream is an aspiration rather than a promise; hence the word Dream rather than promise- which the youth generation doesn’t understand. The second part of Truslow’s American Dream defines what the Dream is not, “It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position" (Tobak). Gaining this American Dream is only attainable with intelligence, work ethic, personal choice and capability, upbringing, and luck through adversity. To achieve the American Dream one must first realize that they are in complete competition with others. The world today has been built on the Dream of busting your ass for your family and making a name for yourself yet now people are content with what they have. The American Dream can and only will be successful if the person is willing to put in the work. 

Suze Orman looks at this new American Dream of only buying what you need, unlike the old materialistic Dream of buying things you want, in addition to setting and attaining financial goals to further explain this new American Dream. People realized that buying two houses and two cars with no money down, plus vacation time spent with money they could use for bills ultimately dug them into an endless hole. This old American Dream was an illusion in the eyes of the beholder that vanished and was replaced by a new realistic version of the American Dream. Orman’s book, The Money Class, offers four ways in which the New American Dream can be achieved. First, people must live below their means but within their needs: although you can afford a 1,500-square foot home you buy a 1,400-square foot home not because you are cheap but because you are financially planning for your future. Secondly, people must have the same pleasure in saving money as they do in spending it: putting away small portions of the overall sum earned will yield the same pleasure of spending the bits at once. Third, people must pay off their mortgages before anything else, no matter the circumstances. Orman’s last tip is to focus on what will be gained rather than focusing on what will be lost. Stopping things such as unnecessary eating out and having expensive taste in clothing will give you more money than you would have had. Orman issues her new American Dream and the ways to live within it to appeal to every American struggling with the idea that one day their financial security will be too much to handle (Orman qtd. Mabrey 4:32-6:35). 

A huge part of the American Dream is homeownership and a fulfilling life with your family. One must see that this American Dream was issued during World War II and after the Great Depression so the only way for the economy to go was up. Soldiers coming home to a booming market economy in which personal revenue increased proved to be an important reason America’s economic status was at a peak. The Dream of white picket fences with two kids and claiming residence for forty years with the same occupation has now changed to living in condos and fluctuating between states depending on where one’s job takes them: “A January report from State Street Global Advisors found that 60 percent of all millennials have changed jobs between one and four times in the last five years.” (Audrey). Rather than sticking to the old American Dream in a time where the economy, social views, and culture have changed, many people are straying away and looking to create jobs to fit what they view as the life they want to live. The American Dream is not dead, not alive, but has simply changed.  

The American Dream itself regards the same core beliefs of the past such as higher wages than past-generations, homeownership, and a healthy bank balance yet none has increased with the economy. Individual intelligence due to the demand of a college degree to maintain a job has increased yet hourly rates for new workers out of college has decreased (Picchi). The fact of the matter, is that our economy, although improved, cannot keep up with the pace of productivity since the last recession in 2009: “While the overall economy has grown since the end of the recession, most Americans aren't capturing their share of those gains” (Picchi). Unfortunately, the only people that can maintain a steady, self-supporting income are the top one-percent of individuals who were already successful. A recent widget implemented by the EPI allows you to enter your current yearly income and spits out what your income would have been if wages kept pace with productivity for the past three decades; an income of $53,000 translates to $77,000. The facts show that our economy accelerated too fast for us as a country to keep pace. The economy itself is booming but lagging wages, a tough job market, and a greater income only positively affecting the non-one percent, is why this dream is both out of reach and unattainable. Facts are facts and once you see that the American Dream has been crushed due the economy that is supposed to keep it up, it’s hard to keep faith. 

The American Dream that inspired small business owners and young entrepreneurs to turn their ideas and dreams into reality is slowly coming to a halt. A study conducted found that there is nowhere in the world where the average wage earner is making enough money to align with the characteristics of the American Dream. The United States is ranked 19th in the world based off median wealth per individual, yet we are the country in which the Dream is supposed to be alive.  A huge reason for this diminishing American Dream is due to big government and high taxing. While the government chooses to tax us, resulting in a loss of consumer money, they then blame the drop of the middle class to the economy moving too fast. In addition to high taxes, interest rates are consequently rising too as shown by a recent survey; showing that 68% of all Americans had destroyed their credit by the age of 30 (Snyder). With the decrease in annual salary and an increase in high taxes, consumers are not able to venture out and buy things (living the old American Dream) which is directly affecting retailers. Such retailers that were born off the American Dream of hard work and perseverance are slowly disappearing little by little. Walmart has closed 269 stores in the world while Sears has shut down nearly 600 stores; and the remaining opened stores will soon close as well. Interestingly, 49% of Americans live in a home that receives money and supplements from the government each month based off the U.S. Census Bureau. Considering that nearly half of the country is now getting money from the government rather than grabbing the American Dream by the horns and making money on their own further proves that this Dream is once again not only dead but unreachable. The American Dream is hard to see when the facts are put on the table and until these facts change the American Dream will remain dead.

 The American Dream of making more money than your parents has been decreasing since the Dream itself was written. A research group, led by economist Raj Chetty, linked together decades of tax records and compared them decade to decade. The results yielded astonishing numbers showing that 92% of children born in the 1940’s were making more money than their parents at the same age, but only 79% of children in the 1950’s were having the same result (Leonhardt). The staggering index of people not making more money than their parents is extremely disappointing considering we live in a country where all we hear about is how life gets better. Looking at the data even further the eight percent of 1940 babies were purely born into affluent families where making more than their parents was practically impossible. The American Dream is supposed to be a Dream of hope and happiness yet happiness can’t be achieved when one is constantly comparing themselves to their own family standards. Not being able to make as much money as your parents in an economy that is supposedly better is quite depressing and proves to be another case to show that the American Dream is dead. 

 Yet, the American Dream is still alive. Kimberly Amadeo looks at the economic and political platforms that relate back to what the founding fathers instilled when the American Dream was first created. The American Dream of equal opportunity is rooted and protected by the most famous doctrine in United States history, the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration proclaims that all men are created equal and are endowed with unalienable rights such as Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. One’s desire for the pursuit of happiness is no luxury for the top one-percent but a necessary driver for all of mankind. The pursuit of happiness is seen throughout the history of the United States through an immense number of Presidents and presidential policies. The implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation by Lincoln to free slaves and the 19th amendment by President Wilson for women to vote are often overlooked examples of equality. President Johnson’s policy for Title VII in the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and President Obama’s decision of marriage regardless of sexual orientation in 2015 are key examples of the pursuit of happiness and supports how the American Dream is still alive (Amadeo). 

The American Dream thrived in the 1920’s and was driven to an unattainable high due to greed among individuals. People often struggled to be happy with themselves but this was quickly changed when FDR issued out an Economic Bill of Rights in 1944 where he redefined the materialistic Dream to consist solely on: housing, a good job, a good education, and healthcare. The Center for a New American Dream issued their idea of this: "... a focus on more of what really matters, such as creating a meaningful life, contributing to community and society, valuing nature, and spending time with family and friends"(Amadeo). Gaining true happiness revolves not around money but the relationships in life with the people around you. Rather than starting from scratch, we as a nation should not give up on the American Dream but define it within its own suitable limits. This pursuit of happiness in the new American Dream issues no specific lifestyle in which to live, therefore everyone should implement their own personal vison to what they think the pursuit of happiness is.

While it may seem meaningless, it’s imperative for previous generations to help millennials achieve the American Dream. Investing into the youth generation will improve life experience as well as personal happiness, which will in return spark the ideas of the American Dream. While commending previous generations for their hard work we must simultaneously make sure that they know their job is not quite done. It’s the older generations that must help the new generation achieve what they have set out to achieve. Further looking at the stability of America in relation to the new generation, to meet every attainable goal set- whether it’s economic prosperity, international competitiveness, a clean energy future, or long and healthier lives- we as a nation must adapt to this new era which consists of a new demographic profile much different from before. We live in a world in which change is necessary therefore we must logically change with it.  

The new “majority-minority” population, the millennials, is inversely related to the past generation consisting of nonimmigrants. To restore this American Dream with this new influx of a wide range of ethnic groups we must invest in a renewed commitment to our social contract theory. By doing this we will eliminate racial and economic inequality, invest in long term education, and improve the financial outlook for millennials and generations beyond. (Accius, Yeh 101-106). Although these are just ideas, I believe if we as a nation can incorporate them little by little the American Dream could be attainable in everyone’s eyes once again. The implementation of social contracts will be the keystone of gaining the ever so alive American Dream back in this demographically diverse nation. 

The American Dream although derived in the United States is not just a dream for one country and one country only. Competitiveness within a work place and an equal mindset among people will yield great results but human nature also brings downfalls. With the addition of greed, jealousy, and envy while also looking at a decrease in the economy and an increase in racial and gender inequality the American Dream of course looks dead. With an ever-changing life-style and economy one cannot rely on what his/her parents did to work for them too. Opportunity is out there for all but it is the mindset that is the only thing holding people back from achieving it. This new American Dream we live in today is not defined by one thing but defined by every person. The belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone. The American dream is achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking and hard work, not by chance. Working together as one unit is the only way we can see this new changed American Dream but if we continue to complain about the poor circumstances and unfortunate times we will never be able to improve. 
