The State of the American Dream
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-11-28/state-american-dream
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Political gridlock and economic anxiety have taken their toll on American optimism. Different perspectives on what the American Dream means today.
Guests
E.J. Dionne Jr.
senior fellow, The Brookings Institution, columnist, Washington Post and author of "Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics After the Religious Right" and of "Stand Up Fight Back."
Dante Chinni
Director of the Jefferson Institute's Patchwork Nation project and online correspondent for the PBS NewsHour; author of "Our Patchwork Nation."
Michelle Bernard
founder, and president of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy and an MSNBC political analyst.
Comments
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Of course America is decline. The reason why is quite simple, our government is trying to do too much here and abroad. I am in the position of having no debts and it is quite shocking how much money is required to just maintain a comfortable life. Taxes are too high across the board, our ridiculous monetary policy has effectively reduced the value of the dollar 73% since 1990. 31.5% since 2000. (link below for calculator). Federal debt and deficits out of control, a populous of givememores and expectlessfroms have bought into the idea we can tax the rich our way out of every problem without cutting social programs.
On the morality front, honesty and personal responsibility are considered quaint old fashioned concepts. Single parent households which almost guaranty living in poverty have grown at an outrageous rate, 70% black, 50% hispanic, 30% white. The dissolution of the family directly feeds into poor educational levels, crime and certainly the examples of irresponsibility are mimicked. Even though most social welfare programs have proved a failure and have made the problems worse, the political left defends them and seeks to expand them with calls for class warfare and lies of impending doom. Establishment republicans for the most part go along with it and add to it for perceived political gain.
On the freedom front we are under constant assault, whether it be by police state democrats and republicans claiming to keep us safe from phantom terrorists by enacting unconstitutional invasions in to our privacy or an activist supreme court that employs the living constitution that in effect ushers in socialism. Constant growth of stifling rules and regulations, political correctness run amok, lawsuit crazy lawyers and a populous with all of the above assaults on it that really doesn't like or trust each other very much.
http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
See, Juan Williams is alive and well. No Bolsheviks threw him into a fiery furnace. (He willingly steeped in Focks.) The American people have been in a funk since the Korean War. Williams demonstrated how deluded people can become when large sums of money are dangled before them. You can't roll in the bed with Bill O'Really and still retain the panache required for NPR. I hope they have video so I can see how crooked he sits on that fat wallet.
Maybe we just have to melt some witches to overcome the enchantment and intimidation causing our quiessence, like the witches guards who were always chanting, "All we owe, we owe her. All we owe, we o-o-we her!" But that panel today ain't no Lion, Scarecrow, Tinman and Dorthy Gayle... so it'll be all fiery brooms in our face. (Wait, wait... E.J. might make a cowardly lion.)
America is in decline and its’ name is Capitalism and Corporate Greed. Capitalism’s moral integrity encourages it to interpret poverty as an absence of “personal responsibility”, giving the capitalist society a pass from possible blame. While personal responsibility may provide comfort and a degree of moral superiority it does not in fact explain the existence of America’s poor. Instead, placing economic responsibility solely on individuals artificially implies a singular moral degeneracy.
While some individuals occasionally achieve dramatic upward mobility, the poor as a class are permanent, and must remain so in order for capitalism to survive. It is capitalism’s own logic that requires a surplus army of labor, one that can be utilized during economic expansions and destroyed during recessions. It is also capitalism’s own logic that discourages full employment. Because altering the leverage between employer and employee, increases wages which trigger the offsetting rise in prices thus creating inflation. The demand for ever-increasing profit, requires relentless privatizing of previously public economic sectors, and the destruction of social safety nets in favor of corporate rather than social welfare. This is not "personal responsibility", this is capitalism.
Human relationships within capitalism are organized similarly to those within feudalism, with very few distinctions. Capitalism’s wage labor creates a huge class of indentured servants, who must sell their time and lives for survival. And yet workers in the American capitalist system believe themselves to be free and utter mindless jingoisms like “freedom, liberty, fairness and legitimacy”. Phrases such as “personal responsibility” are often espoused by those suffering forty-hour workweeks of stultifying labor, and systematic exploitation through their role as a consumer.
Continued observations on the myth that is “personal responsibility”, I would like to offer this personal observation.
I have a client that I see once a week, he was a former CEO/CFO for several large corporations. An older man, retired, intelligent but failing in health. I think more than anything else he pays me to be his friend. He seeks people to talk to, but many of his former friends he finds lacking. Quite a few of them, also retired business excutives have either lost it, mentally, or in his words….”found god”.
He and I often discuss capitalism. He is a staunch supporter of laissez-faire capitalism and we often argue about conservative principles. I often think that in some way he is trying to justify, both to himself and to me, the fallacies that he has supported most of his working life. Just two months ago, he presented me with a eight page treatise on “ profit sharing” as a defense for maintaining a capitalist system. This was after a rather heated couple of meetings regarding the outright stupidity of capitalism. It was a revealing betrayal on his part.
But the heart of the matter with him has always been his unfailing belief that over the course of his professional life, he acted in the best interest of the various businesses that he presided over. One very revealing conversation that we had centered on how he had increased profits and brought more money to bottom line in the 1960’s by breaking a union. Ultimately laying off nearly a quarter of the employees at one of the companies that he worked for. For him it was almost a matter of pride.
What he was espousing was at the very center that we had discussed and argued about for several weeks, the fact that by eliminating these workers jobs, he was responsible for creating a group of people who would now be unemployed through no fault of their own, simply because the company had found a quick fix to a financial problem.
Why was the topic title changed? It was "Is America in Decline"
"The American Dream", even as a kid this tired cliche left me scratching my head, I had my own ideas for my dreams. How about this "Blood Guts Bullets and Octane the American Way" now there's something to get excited about. I can't take all the credit for this but it would put a fresh coat of paint on a much maligned catch phrase.
Man TB your a nasty piece of work, why don't you cut the old fart some slack and let him die in peace. Sounds like a sharp cat to me.
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure,
the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy,
its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.."
-- Winston Churchill
The problem with the American Dream, is purely Philosophic. It is our philosophic value system….which is money. I hear conservatives moaning constantly about how the left wants to destroy America with socialist policies. Oh god, if it were only true. The problem, as I see it is, that there is not even enough socialism working to make any kind of a difference. What little socialism that exists in an operative state in America is miniscule. Even the young Occupy protestors don’t have a clue about what is really at play here. They’ve been CONSUMERS for their entire lives and are too steeped in the idiocy of the “purchase” for the sake of buying. If socialism really were allowed work, if it were given slightly half the space that capitalism/corporate/consumerism were given, our world would be a far more tolerable place, and it would be a lot less ugly than it is now. This competitive “winning” at all costs has contaminated every aspect of our lives and there is nothing….not one aspect of American life, that it has not ruined. Even labor unions are corrupt and have been destroyed by the very capitalism that they sought to eliminate. The brightest minds of each successive new generation are warped and led astray by the investment class and business colleges churn out another batch of “wizards” who fill the corridors of Wall Street looking for opportunities to “make money”. Business graduates study less than any other discipline in the academic world and they go to work looking for the quick and easy solutions. Many of which are nothing more than schemes to deceive and cheat. We now have an entire class of businesses that do not make or manufacture a single thing, not one commodity, they simply make money from money. So for those of you who are worried about America and the American Dream, worry more about what Capitalism is doing. Don’t worry about Socialism, it doesn’t exist.
For Capitalism to endure it must increasingly exclude every possible alternative because it is an ugly, corrupting, cruel regime that cannot survive comparison.
In the United States it has reached its self-made demise because it has exceeded the carrying capacity of both the environment and the human mind.
Psychological exploitation and physical rapaciousness have both reached natural limits. From this point on capitalists cannot expect willing cooperation or easy extraction. And so now they must operate as a fascist enterprise.
Occupiers are playing at zweck socialism because they intuitively anticipate collapse of civilization. So far the ritual is futile. Ghost shirts and white buffalo hidden inside mountains come to mind. The lifeway is discredited. Delusions of brainwashed throwbacks seeking cheap gasoline and conspicuous horsepower wastage are merely the other side of the coin. Soon TV preachers will tell viewers donations to their ministries mysteriously produce new muscle cars with always full tanks.
They already make mortgage payment claims.
The greatest danger is that fascists will set ideological tribes against one another for mutual annihilation. To the "winners" (now whiners)at the top most of us are superfluous. Some posters here may be working to make that happen with their "bring it on" attitude. They expect to survive and divide the spoils. Such people belong in failed states. I choose socialism because it is humane and compatible with the conventions of civilized people. I will work and share to make it real. Go Occupy (It is educational.)!
You socialists really crack me up, the commune idea is a total failure for the obvious reason everyone inevitably gets to lazy or indifferent and finds it much to much work to get out of bed to plant the crops and then you starve.
The American dream is about immigration , and without the post-geograPHic{=civility X why so Z?} NORMATIVE stimulation we're TRAPPED in secondary constipation. The world sees this with abated-hesitation and now I can't even remember what I was sayin'g, but out with the old and inn with the fascination. new arrivals and their 1st gen children can't stand this contemplation. Our cancer requires cosmic radiation 1000 points yet one has an immaculate destination, that's America! beyond the mental-POLI-nation, there's no royal-flush without this quiet proclamation, fear no god without geographic penetration. don't rhyme eulogy with antisipation, Normative teens on the TV are innnnn preparation, your traditional world awaits and not a vacation but a Holy quest post-specification. I LOVE YOU DIANE. [and... aparently i'm Crazy, but that's THE STATE of separation, liberating our great nation] talking lovely i need a dictionarization?lol.
that's true, unless normal-spirituality or indeed history/tradition is there WITH YOU, then "you're there", but the navigator see's it much more clear, and this path somebody or "nobody" must steer, that's your.... communal cheer.
Found out that part reason VA still 'working' on claim... is that once again claim 'lost' and our eligibility based on income needed to be
verified(again).
After many years(almost all overseas) OUR active duty ended JUN 1990 so we missed the allowance of NOT needing two witnesses to injury. And as ALL records destroyed by 2001(?) fire(just like our Dad's previously from WW2- different 'fire')
AND event involved being instructed NOT to talk about it... leaves Capt. Yossarian wondering how much is simply incompetence on a global scale and how much is careful consideration of savings by abandoning now 'useless' veterans(claim rate goes down after death/
homelessness)?
Allowing camping for being first in line at the opening store riot to be able to purchase that must gift for the kids or themselves good capitalism- camping as homeless due to illness or loss of jobS at capitol- threat to national security?
Good news after loss of home, and awaiting response
from pleas to VA, accepted at low income medical group. Unfortunately- now informed no new patients due to Congress NOT acting(cuts for doctors).
Had gotten used to no care under the VA. Nice to have continuity. Had home almost paid off. No one could help our situation- long term unemployment(career ended after whistleblow/ call to radio show).
Real estate agency, old owner, and now new owner?(soon- first Fannie Mae)- actually paid as agent for FM now- although unable to sell(did they ever try? 5 percent return- or 50 percent?- might be
our craziness) for us. No informed contact from lender, no legal advice for us(no money), and now no response from realtor(cash for keys?).
My family awaits a call or letter(hundreds) from 'legal' and not- scams about refinance or credit or loan(at 30 percent) or GI profit or nonprofit(to donate $ of course) which a few so slick would have fallen for BUT no money LOL...
Not sure when sheriff comes... here or there though... my family occupying for the hollow daze- and beyond. Not sure final societal costs or what we will decide to do... but prison, crime, and poor health- death apparently only options left.
You are welcome for our combined 30 plus years of service. We intend to us all our training to ensure OUR families survival. Taxes- government obligations? No offense, but you broke the social contract FIRST, so any prior oaths null and void and no further taxes will be forthcoming(not hard- worthless now).
But your concern is important to us, so please hold on the line, and an approved private contractor/ or overwhelmed counselor at VA suicide line, will be with you shortly... finally- switched over to the
Soylent Green Industries- a HUMAN operator who said to come down to their plant near the base and they would find some useful contribution for us. FINALLY a plan that will work- Soylent Green- not jUSt US' for Tuesdays any more... IT is justice all the time NOW... at OCCUPY the show?
I think if we stopped senseless wars shrunk our military and then used those monies to capture the renewable energies technologies that would be a start.
I think also there should be a campaign to buy American. Everything sourced and built in the USA should have a federal label that can be trusted It might cost more nut that is where the patriotic aspect via advertising comes in...buy American to support OUR country. Let's get back to R&D and build things to make a better world not destroy it! ALSO let us get insurance for EVERYONE.
The Republicans are out to destroy the middle class Yes through their hate of being progressive, innovative, and their hate for minorities and the poor
It stands to unimpeachable logic that as one group hoards resources (money in this case) there is HAS to be less for those outside said group. Example, if there are 10 bananas and 10 chimps and one chimp takes 9 of them, it can only leave 1 for the other 9 chimps.
Great show Diane. I have a blog where I address the current Obama administration and the Republican presidential primary race. I raise the race issue in my blog. Not surprisingly, your show has not only raised it too, you are addressing the central issue of the 2012 campaign. Bill Clinton and I are both trying to get the Obama Administration to get it that this is The Issue--It's not only the Economy, Stupid.
Please share the real reason why American Dream is in decline. So called moderate conservatives (liberal republicans) and moderate progressives (i.e., liberal socialists) put the America Dream into decline with the support of a ingratiating media.
Lets get this over once and for all, conservatives don't hate the poor or minorities, there are actually a number of us that are poor and /or a minority. We also don't like to see people hungry or kicked out of their homes. We want all people to have the same opportunities, and the same chances. But that is not possible, some people are better at certain skills than others. Some people are willing to put in 60+ hour weeks, working jobs that our communities value more than jobs that pay minimum wage. Why should those individules exclusivly pay their fair share for government when 51% of people out there aren't paying a penny of Federal income tax?
I didn't try to call in because I am focusing on hearing you and your great panel.
Excerpt from a blog posting relevant to todays During the past several weeks, words like “shame,” “embarrassment,” “disgust” and “despair” are those that most often come to mind when I contemplate the machinations and dysfunctions of the U.S. Congress. Sadly, the failure of the “Supercommittee” is but the tip of the iceberg. I think of the “water” of which this metaphorical iceberg is comprised as being mostly garbage filled. Soon I will be departing for an extended period of service overseas – in Singapore. What will I say to my colleagues, friends and students at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy when they query me about the recent events that have been unfolding on Washington, D.C.’s Capital Hill? What does this communicate to the world about a country in which I have taken pride, America?
Fortuitously, the Wednesday November 23 “Insight from the Dalai Lama” from my calendar offered the following message to ponder. I will be sharing it with my own Senators and Representative.
“Sometimes we look down on politics, criticizing it as dirty. However if you look at it properly, politics in itself is not wrong. It is an instrument to serve human society. With good motivation, sincerity and honestly, politics becomes an instrument in the service of society. But when motivated by selfishness with hatred, anger or jealousy, it becomes dirty.”
I believe we need to create a new American Dream that is created for all people. Our constitution says that all men [people] are created equal, however that is not the case. One of your guests mentioned that the system is broken, I do not believe the system is broken, but rather it works - the system works and functions for whom it was intended. The systems in this country were not created to work for people of color - if we want a system of education and government that work, we need to create a completely new system.
I agree that one of the biggest threats to our country is the extreme inequality in opportunity and income, but beyond that, I would also like to suggest that perhaps it is time to reconsider what "the American Dream" means. Instead of it meaning the chance to earn more money so that we can consume more things that are apparently not making us any happier, that we reconsider the ideals of community, living reasonably and reducing our net footprints. I would like to suggest that people look at the website for the "Center for the New American Dream", whose motto is "Less stuff, more fun" and tries to get us to think of simpler ways of defining what it means to be successful here.
Ok conservatives, last week it was 50% don't pay taxes, this week it's 51%.
Many statistics report African Americans have not progressed economically since the depression. How do we inspire our children to succeed when their chances are boxed in because of their race.
What nonsensical socialist drivel seems to abound on this blog today! The premise that appears dominant is that capitalism is the problem and socialism is the answer. In order to minimize the risk of failure, there should be a road map - an historic precedent - that can be observed whereby we can plan and measure our success. Please define by name this specific historic precedent where the socialist utopia exists or has existed.
have been an unemployed or under-employed IT senior systems analyst since the Tech crash in 2000. I have no health insurance and have exhausted all of my considerable assets. I am living with my son and his family in Boyds. I'm still alive and trying to hang onto the Hope Yuu can Believe In.
Business-minded idiots laugh at the polar bear drowning without ice to stand on, not understanding they are bloodsucking fleas on the big drowning Dawg.
Dartmouth frat boys have their marching orders: Violently Harass Occupy!
Smashing their ATM with a bat they fail to realize this will be the last withdrawal. Wolves have difficulty training pups these days.
It is the structural violence of capitalists that is collapsing the wealth temple.
They blame the grazing sheep nearby.
Michelle Bernard is nothing more than a race bait-er, a black ideologue that sees racism everywhere. How can even the most decent person respond kindly to being called a racist because they are disagreed with. All too many black people are walking around with chips on their shoulders, in other words utter contempt for white people. Look at where this mindset has brought the black race around the world, NOWHERE.
I wrote this article on the death of the american dream I believe this is relevant to the topic. please take a look at it and tell me what you think.
http://greatnesswasted.com/?p=479#more-479
I blame the failure of the American Drean squarly on the banks & housing sectors. Back in the 70's if the wife worked to try and get ahead, the reale state mogals charged more money for the same house. Why? Because the family had two incomes and could aford too pay more for the same house. What choice did the working person have. They were forced to pay the higher price.
I can add the loss of manufacturing in this country. I lost my job in the at LTV Steal (not misspelled) in Clebveland, Ohio back in 2001 when they filed Chapter 7.
Bad government policy allowed manufacturing to move outside this counrty, and in some cases, gave them tax breaks.
Read the book "The Deindustrialization of America" by Barry Bluestone & Bennett Harrison. It was written in 1982. You should have no problem in bridging the problems then to the same or similar problems now.