The Significance of the Idea of the American Dream linked with Issues of Poverty and Inequality

The Significance of the Idea of the American Dream linked with Issues of Poverty and Inequality PDF Author: Svenja Stoll
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3668350574
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 11

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Book Description
Essay from the year 2016 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,1, University of Frankfurt (Main) (England- und Amerikastudien), course: Cultural Studies, language: English, abstract: When I think of the term American Dream it is directly connected with associations as freedom, chances and success. Hollywood productions like "The Great Gatsby" or "The Pursuit of Happiness", in which people have made it from rags to riches, come into my mind. But by taking a deeper look into that topic it becomes clear that the American Dream is much more like just that. I also think of very egocentric concepts of life which are depicted in these stories and which have nothing to do with a respectful, empathetic and tolerant community. The questions rise what it actually is, what we are ‘dreaming’ of – is it just about prosperity or do we really pursue happiness regardless to money? And: Am I interested in the development of the community? What has it to do with my personal (American) Dream? When it comes to the American Dream concepts of gender, class, race and ethnicity can and have to be taken into consideration especially when we link the photograph “Bread Line during the Louisville Flood, Kentucky” from 1937 by Margaret Bourke- White with that topic what will be done in this essay. Before the critical executions in this essay relate to this photograph it displays the meaning of the term American Dream and its connection to inequality and poverty in general.

The Significance of the Idea of the American Dream linked with Issues of Poverty and Inequality

The Significance of the Idea of the American Dream linked with Issues of Poverty and Inequality PDF Author: Svenja Stoll
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3668350574
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 11

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Book Description
Essay from the year 2016 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,1, University of Frankfurt (Main) (England- und Amerikastudien), course: Cultural Studies, language: English, abstract: When I think of the term American Dream it is directly connected with associations as freedom, chances and success. Hollywood productions like "The Great Gatsby" or "The Pursuit of Happiness", in which people have made it from rags to riches, come into my mind. But by taking a deeper look into that topic it becomes clear that the American Dream is much more like just that. I also think of very egocentric concepts of life which are depicted in these stories and which have nothing to do with a respectful, empathetic and tolerant community. The questions rise what it actually is, what we are ‘dreaming’ of – is it just about prosperity or do we really pursue happiness regardless to money? And: Am I interested in the development of the community? What has it to do with my personal (American) Dream? When it comes to the American Dream concepts of gender, class, race and ethnicity can and have to be taken into consideration especially when we link the photograph “Bread Line during the Louisville Flood, Kentucky” from 1937 by Margaret Bourke- White with that topic what will be done in this essay. Before the critical executions in this essay relate to this photograph it displays the meaning of the term American Dream and its connection to inequality and poverty in general.

Persistent Poverty

Persistent Poverty PDF Author: Richard H. Ropers
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9780306437649
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Once heralded as "the land of opportunity," America has become, for increasing numbers of her inhabitants, a nation of disappointment and hardship. In a land characterized by innumerable economic, environmental and social problems, poverty is escalating to the point where approximately one-third of the population is composed of the poor and the near poor. Persistent Poverty provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of one of America's most disturbing social problems.In a clear, uncompromising style, Richard H. Ropers, Ph.D., a noted authority on the plight of the poverty-stricken, unravels a skein of government inconsistencies in handling the mounting effects of poverty, homelessness, the welfare system, and the gradual polarization of our class system, resulting in the gradual erosion of the middle class. After examining various "blame-the-victim" and "blame the system" theories of inequality, Dr. Ropers asserts that such poverty results primarily from long-term economic, social, and political policies and is not necessarily derived from the supposed deviant behavior of the poor.With a staggering 70 million Americans living just above or below the poverty line, the author advises that urgent attention be paid to the structural roots of poverty in light of significant increases in the rate of crime, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, domestic violence, and unemployment. As an objective focus on the enormous scope of poverty, this groundbreaking work offers keen insights into the argument that despite substantial efforts to alleviate similar plights worldwide, the United States cannot provide sufficient care for her own impoverished citizens.Sociologists, educators, politicians, urbanologists, public officials, and concerned citizens will all benefit from this provocative and thoughtful appraisal.

Ending Poverty in America

Ending Poverty in America PDF Author: John Edwards
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1595587322
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
An “engrossing collection of rigorously researched articles” from Elizabeth Warren, Jared Bernstein, William Julius Wilson, and more (Publishers Weekly). Can the wealthiest nation in the world do anything to combat the steadily rising numbers of Americans living in poverty—or the tens of millions of Americans living in “near poverty”? In this book, some of the country’s most prominent scholars, businesspeople, and community activists answer with a resounding yes. Published in conjunction with one of the country’s leading anti-poverty centers, Ending Poverty in America brings together respected social scientists, journalists, neighborhood organizers, and business leaders—both liberal and conservative—to tackle hot-button issues such as job creation, schools, housing, and family-friendly social policy, offering a template for a renewed public debate and a genuine effort to confront this urgent issue that undermines the long-term security of our nation. Contributors include: Jared Bernstein, Anita Brown-Graham, Carol Mendez Cassell, Richard Freeman, Angela Glover-Blackwell, Jacob Hacker, Harry Holzer, Jack F. Kemp, Ronald Mincy, Katherine S. Newman, Melvin L. Oliver, Dennis Orthner, David K. Shipler, Beth Shulman, Michael A. Stegman, Elizabeth Warren, William Julius Wilson.

Chasing the American Dream

Chasing the American Dream PDF Author: Mark Robert Rank PhD
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199831521
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
The United States has been epitomized as a land of opportunity, where hard work and skill can bring personal success and economic well-being. The American Dream has captured the imagination of people from all walks of life, and to many, it represents the heart and soul of the country. But there is another, darker side to the bargain that America strikes with its people -- it is the price we pay for our individual pursuit of the American Dream. That price can be found in the economic hardship present in the lives of millions of Americans. In Chasing the American Dream, leading social scientists Mark Robert Rank, Thomas A. Hirschl, and Kirk A. Foster provide a new and innovative look into a curious dynamic -- the tension between the promise of economic opportunities and rewards and the amount of turmoil that Americans encounter in their quest for those rewards. The authors explore questions such as: -What percentage of Americans achieve affluence, and how much income mobility do we actually have? -Are most Americans able to own a home, and at what age? -How is it that nearly 80 percent of us will experience significant economic insecurity at some point between ages 25 and 60? -How can access to the American Dream be increased? Combining personal interviews with dozens of Americans and a longitudinal study covering 40 years of income data, the authors tell the story of the American Dream and reveal a number of surprises. The risk of economic vulnerability has increased substantially over the past four decades, and the American Dream is becoming harder to reach and harder to keep. Yet for most Americans, the Dream lies not in wealth, but in economic security, pursuing one's passions, and looking toward the future. Chasing the American Dream provides us with a new understanding into the dynamics that shape our fortunes and a deeper insight into the importance of the American Dream for the future of the country.

The American Dream Deferred

The American Dream Deferred PDF Author: Cory Booker
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 0815736762
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 26

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Book Description
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) shares the story of his father's journey from poverty to middle-class prosperity, but says the bargain that helped his father and other workers achieve the American Dream is now broken. Sen. Booker reflects on the trends and practices contributing to stagnant wages in the United States, including a corporate culture that favors shareholder payouts over investments in workers; barriers to worker mobility, like non-compete clauses; and the “fissuring” of the workforce, as companies today are more likely to contract out labor to low-cost vendors rather than employ directly. Senator Booker calls for policies that will address these and related challenges, expand opportunity for all Americans, and restore the bargain for all who seek it.

Ending Poverty in America

Ending Poverty in America PDF Author: John Edwards
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
A collection of original essays designed to put the issue of poverty back on the political map in the US, offering a plan to eliminate poverty in 30 years. With contributions on job creation, schools, housing, rural and family life, this forward-thinking selection brings together liberals and conservatives to address one of the great moral and societal issues of modern life.

Our Kids

Our Kids PDF Author: Robert D. Putnam
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476769907
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
"The bestselling author of Bowling Alone offers [an] ... examination of the American Dream in crisis--how and why opportunities for upward mobility are diminishing, jeopardizing the prospects of an ever larger segment of Americans"--

Economic Inequality

Economic Inequality PDF Author: Coral Celeste Frazer
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books ™
ISBN: 1541521900
Category : Young Adult Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Book Description
Millions of Americans don't earn enough money to pay for decent housing, food, health care, and education. Increasingly, families and young people aren't doing better than their parents and grandparents before them. In fact, they're doing worse. And women and minorities earn less than white men. The American Dream is harder to achieve than ever before. Meanwhile, the rich keep getting richer. Many Americans are angry about economic inequality, and many are working on solutions. Readers will learn how state and local governments, businesses, and ordinary citizens—including young people—are fighting to close the gap between rich and poor, to preserve the promises of American democracy, and to give everyone a fair shot at the American Dream.

The American Dream and the Power of Wealth

The American Dream and the Power of Wealth PDF Author: Heather Beth Johnson
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 0415952395
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
The American Dream and the Power of Wealth investigates the way that wealth (rather than income) structures educational opportunity in the United States. Furthermore, it shows the way that educational opportunity-the bedrock upon which our pervasive ideology of meritocracy or, in Johnson's terms, "the American Dream" is founded-structures the racial class system in the United States. She accomplishes this by analyzing an impressive store of qualitative and quantitative research on three cities: Boston, Los Angeles, and St. Louis. The meritocratic ideology is riddled with contradictions due to the massive and growing wealth disparity between blacks and whites, in particular. Everyone wants the best for their children, but access to assets is what allows wealthy people to either send their children to private school or buy expensive homes in neighborhoods with good public schools. In this equation, income doesn't matter so much, but wealth-which is typically inherited-does. Not surprisingly, black Americans, who on average have far less wealth than white Americans, are often unable to attend the best schools. And since educational attainment is the root of our alleged meritocracy, whites disproportionately dominate it-and families with wealth, even when they recognize the meritocracy as a problem, don't opt out of the system that has successfully reproduced itself for decades. Essentially, the meritocratic ideology of the American Dream continues to cast a powerful spell, and people who stand to benefit will participate in it regardless of the social issues involved.

Happiness for All?

Happiness for All? PDF Author: Carol Graham
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691204551
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
The Declaration of Independence states that all people are endowed with certain unalienable rights, and that among these is the pursuit of happiness. But is happiness equally available to everyone in America today? How about elsewhere in the world? Carol Graham draws on cutting-edge research linking income inequality with well-being to show how the widening prosperity gap has led to rising inequality in people's beliefs, hopes, and aspirations. For the United States and other developed countries, the high costs of being poor are most evident not in material deprivation but rather in stress, insecurity, and lack of hope. The result is an optimism gap between rich and poor that, if left unchecked, could lead to an increasingly divided society. Graham reveals how people who do not believe in their own futures are unlikely to invest in them, and how the consequences can range from job instability and poor education to greater mortality rates, failed marriages, and higher rates of incarceration. She describes how the optimism gap is reflected in the very words people use--the wealthy use words that reflect knowledge acquisition and healthy behaviors, while the words of the poor reflect desperation, short-term outlooks, and patchwork solutions. She also explains why the least optimistic people in America are poor whites, not poor blacks or Hispanics. Happiness for All? highlights the importance of well-being measures in identifying and monitoring trends in life satisfaction and optimism--and misery and despair--and demonstrates how hope and happiness can lead to improved economic outcomes.