Is the American Dream still accessible to the majority of
Americans?
Yes, the
American Dream is still accessible and always will be accessible to the
majority of Americans. If you want something as bad as you say you do then you
need to work hard to get there. By no means is it guaranteed to be easy.
My generation has grown up in a world of handouts, so that everyone can
feel like they are equal and that nobody is being treated better than the
other. I strongly believe that is bullshit. It kind of reminds
me about how children get participation medals for not placing/losing... If you
didn’t place in something, it means you lost, try better next time- losers don’t
get rewards. If you work for something, you should get everything that you
earned for it. For example, if you bust your ass day in and day out- you should
totally get 100% of what you are entitled to. On the other hand, if you do a
half ass job, you should expect a half ass reward. In today’s society people
work off of a "LOOK AT ME" work ethic, meaning that when they do one
good thing it should be praised and glorified. Unacceptable.
From Nickled and Dimed
From
Nickled and Dimed is an essay about an employee that w0rks for a cleaning
service called The Maids' and the daily routines of those employed by the
service. It gives brief insight about the struggles some of the maids have in
their personal lives and the repercussions and sacrifices they must make with
the amount of pay they receive for a day’s work. Although the Intel given
throughout this essay is brief it revolves around the thoughts the narrator is
having during her work day, especially with the things she sees in the houses
she cleans. As she finishes the work week she seems somewhat relieved that she
gets a nice hot shower, with water that she paid for, and although she does not
have time to go job hunting at the end of her workday she rewards herself in
other ways and takes time for herself. She is content where she is at because
she realizes that her job is not as bad as it seems.
RIP, the Middle Class: 1946-2013
Yes, RIP
to the middle class indeed. This essay is about the regression of the United
States Economy. It starts by explaining how "easy opportunity was for the
baby boomers (Our grandparents) to the harsh realities of today. This essay
explains how easy it was to live and enjoy life. How lack of a high school
diploma could even get you someone. Back to a much more simple time. It goes
down the line showing also showing the presidents from the time of Richard
Nixon all the way to Barack Obama and their strategies to "fix" the
nation and the job market. There were stories about how people from the late
40's into today lost their jobs with the turn of the economy mid-life and had
to start from scratch molding themselves to the criteria this era demands. It
is also explained that the American Dream now it to get out of debt and to get
to ZERO instead of going above zero.
I will first answer the question: Do the wealthy have a responsibility to care for the poor? I believe the answer to that question, for the most part, is yes. It could very well depend on the situation, but when it is helpful the wealthy should assist the poor. Any amount of money or resources could be put to good use and if someone has a lot of wealth then they can certainly bring something to the table. It doesn't have to be big, but anything can go a long way. There can be exceptions to this though. If I was wealthy I would not give to someone with a destructive lifestyle. Those people would not make good use of what I might have to offer. In the Nickle and Dimed essay, it's all about the job of a house maid and what they must do while on the job. The majority of it is notably antagonistic. It can be easily concluded that the company keeps more money than they give to employees, employees hardly ever get anything to eat, and the company often ends up hiring people who are desperate for the most probably reason that they do not have to pay them as much. This makes the company look greedy and unwilling to provide for their employees. In RIP, the Middle Class, the idea of the American Dream and making a living is much harder to achieve in present day than it used to be. The author says it is because of the increasing elimination of the middle class, which creates an ever growing gap between the rich and the poor. To me it seems the best solution is to somehow convince the rich to stop holding on to so much of the nation's wealth, but it is very hard to separate the greedy from their treasure. Typically those who have more want more and that causes terrible problems.
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