Bob Herbert Hiding Fro Om Reality Analysis

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American Dream Essay When it comes to the topic of social inequality and the American dream, there are many authors who will readily agree that the American dream has died. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of what exactly is the American dream today? Whereas some are convinced that America is in bad shape, others maintain that America still has the potential to overcome the Great Recession and the American dream is still very much alive. Have we, as Americans, lost our drive and motivation to achieve prosperity and the pursuit of happiness in our lives? If people believe the American dream has truly disappeared then what are they striving to reach? As history has shown, Americans have proven they can overcome many challenges and economic downfalls. So, why does the dream die now? In his article “Hiding…show more content…
He claims that there is not much of the American dream left and that “we’ve become a hapless, can’t-do society, and it’s frankly, embarrassing” (Herbert, 566). He blames the poor policies, decline of the educational system, and the costly wars we cannot afford for our country’s loss of the idolized perception we have of the American dream. He defines the American dream as jobs provided for all who want to work and provide salaries large enough to allow employees to have a decent standard of living. Herbert urges the idea that raising taxes will help the issue of inequality amongst Americas classes and will help us pay for the wars overseas. Robert H. Frank, author of “Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore”, supports Herbert’s beliefs. He points out the realities of the inequalities throughout America. Agreeing with Herbert, he thinks that all the income growth has been focused on the wealthy and thus leaving
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