IndexDestroyers of the American Dream: Is It Dead?The Global Appeal of the American DreamWorks CitedWhen America asserted itself, it boldly stated in the Declaration of Independence that regardless of who you are, you have been granted the opportunity to improve your life by being endowed with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The intentions behind these rights for the American government were not materialistic gain, but an indispensable driver of a prosperous economy. The American dream was basically the means to achieve a better economic position than one's parents. Today the American dream is dead. Less than one hundred years after its creation, and less than two years if you count the entire population, including people from all walks of life, the American Dream has been decimated due to economic inequality, an inadequate education system, and ongoing discrepancies between natives, immigrants and multicultural people. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Destroyers of the American Dream: Is It Dead? Economic inequality is undoubtedly the most dire attribution to the demise of the American dream. That is, the economy has slowed overall since the 2009 economic crisis, making it harder for each generation to surpass the previous one. A slow economy generates less income, making less money in circulation for everyone. Fewer people benefiting from newly generated income means that disparities between classes become larger and larger with each passing year. This inequality harms the ability of members of society to realistically access economic mobility, the ability to move from one social class to another. In recent studies conducted by economist Raj Chetty, the leap from the lower class to the middle class and, more significantly, from the middle class to the upper class is becoming ever larger, making it even more difficult to surpass previous generations by making the American dream impossible to achieve . He estimates that inequality accounts for more than 70% of the decline in mobility. Nowadays, only 41% of thirty-year-olds earn more than their parents did when they were thirty. Wage stagnation is another relevant factor when it comes to the American dream. People with higher income and political power are the ones who directly set wage stagnation in motion by intentionally institutionalizing policy choices including decreased union density, various business practices, and forgoing full-time employment opportunities. The upper class continually enacts these policies for the very reason that such economic mobility becomes less likely to occur, thus keeping the money floating in the upper class economy in their hands and not among other people. A good way to contemplate the role of inequality in the American economy is to understand that the modern economy is statistically more productive than it was forty years ago, even though economic growth is slower than it was forty years ago; however, this increase has the potential to allow more than half the population to fare better than their parents, but it is not possible because the available growth has been disproportionately allocated to the upper class, keeping the poor poor and the rich rich, which represents the dead American dream. Education has been touted as the hallmark of achieving the American dream. Income and job security are directly related to the acquisition of education. This is no longer the case. In recent years, the United States has boasted of the education system inact because it was aimed at the masses. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, “In 2000, the United States still ranked second in the percentage of its population with a college degree. We are now down to fifth place. Between the ages of 25 and 34… we are in 12th place, while once-impoverished South Korea tops the list.” A frightening realization considering that the entire world has modeled itself on our own operations; the government fueled this destiny. Economic philosopher Richard Reeves attributes the dead American Dream to a connection between education and economic inequality. He quotes: “Children of rich parents have many more opportunities to acquire skills than those of poor parents. A labor market that increasingly values ​​skills consequently highlights inequalities in education. In other words, the game is fair, but the player selection process is rigged." System in which the lower class cannot afford the same quality of education as the upper class, denying them the same opportunities in the job market. The Global Appeal of the American Dream Although the American Dream has always been an American Dream, it has attracted the attention of people globally. People from all over the world, usually from poor or dangerous countries, immigrate to America in search of a much better life than the one they came from. Unfortunately, immigrants arriving in this country generally face two scenarios depending on their status. Legally, they are discriminated against just like the natives living in the country, which prevents them from having the same opportunities afforded even to lower class whites, even if they don't have the chance to get them. Illegally, workers are severely mistreated working in brutal conditions, living in cramped quarters, and facing near-constant threats of deportation for unsuitable work. Not to mention the salary is drastically lower than the standard one. The Department of Labor states that “people of color are nearly twice as likely to be unemployed as Caucasian Americans, even when they have the same educational qualifications. Latinos are 70% more likely to be unemployed than Caucasian workers with the same education.” Although their quality of life has improved somewhat, the possibility of reaching and realizing the American dream is a reality they will never live to see. It's just another way that big corporations and the wealthy class work to ensure that the least amount of money possible gets to the lower classes. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The reality of the American Dream is that it has not been failed by millions of people, but itself has failed by millions of people due to all the factors that make it totally impossible to achieve. Because the government, wealthier individuals, and large corporations have manifested economic inequality, harbored a selective education system, and completely taken advantage of those seeking a better life with equal opportunities, the American Dream can no longer be considered a reality in the contemporary world. society. The American dream is dead. Works Cited Chetty, R., Hendren, N., Kline, P., Saez, E., & Turner, N. (2014). Is the United States still a land of opportunity? Recent trends in intergenerational mobility. American Economic Review, 104(5), 141-147. doi: 10.1257/aer.104.5.141EPI. (2018). State of Working America's Wages 2018. Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://www.epi.org/publication/swa-wages-2018/OECD. (2017). Education at a glance 2017. Publications.