(Independent) Death to the American dream? Poll finds most agree hard work no longer guarantees economic gain

A new poll has found most U.S. adults agree hard work no longer guarantees economic gain, crushing the long-held cultural belief known as the American dream.

There is a running joke on TikTok, which is predominantly used by younger adults, that the Baby Boomer generation is now able to sell their homes for millions after buying them with a handful of raspberries.

This sentiment rang true in a recent survey from The Wall Street Journal and NORC at the University of Chicago, as well as in interviews conducted by the publication. A majority of respondents said the prior generation had an easier time buying a home, starting a business or being a full-time parent.

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“There’s limits to what hard work can actually bring people these days,” Bill Sanchez, a 30-year-old criminal defense attorney and Army veteran who makes roughly $72,000 a year living in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, told the WSJ.

Jerry Esch, a 56-year-old from Windsor, Colorado, was making roughly $200,000 a year before he was laid off this summer after working at Microsoft for 20 years. He and his wife still have a mortgage to pay off.

Esch said salaries haven’t risen with “ridiculous” home prices. “How we address that is the biggest thing in fixing that American dream,” he said.

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Slartibartfast said:

Death to the American dream? Poll finds most agree hard work no longer guarantees economic gain

A majority of Americans say the prior generation had an easier time buying a home, starting a business or being a full-time parent

ca.news.yahoo.com

The US is an empire in decline and has been since we the 80s when we took our focus off of improving the lives of people and wages began stagnating. As more and more people lose faith in America, look for greater and greater political swings as people look ever harder for fixes and ways to improve their lives.

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ataraxia said:

I was a kid during the Reagan years, and so wasn’t quite sure what was going on. But now, the more I learn about what happened during that period, the more I realize what a catastrophic blow he dealt to America. From the rise of Christian theocracy to the destruction of the middle class, it was a blow that knocked the American dream flat on its back- and it will likely never recover.

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ataraxia said:

From the rise of theocracy to the destruction of the metal class

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PeacefulWarrior said:

Death Metal? Heavy Metal?

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---------- said:

Work smart, not hard.

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---------- said:

Work smart, not hard.

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Loulit01 said:

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Writing Clichés and How to Avoid Them

Clichés are something I’m still coming to terms with as a writer. I used to think that clichés were mostly common phrases; “As blind as a bat.” “In the nick of time!” …

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Slartibartfast said:

Cool, that totally ignores the issue of social stability.

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---------- said:

Not really. You have to work within the constraints of what you are given to work with. Many people today are thriving. If I had to start all over again today there is no doubt in my mind I would succeed.

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Slartibartfast said:

That is obviously not true and is a slave mentality. If that were the case then the US would have never been founded, we would have never gotten civil rights or worker's rights, etc. History has shown it is very possible to change systems and put societies in a situation where more succeed.

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Death to the American dream?​

---------- said:

The topic was the American dream. You are just posting nonsense trying to sound smart.

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