nanook 1 #101 October 31, 2009 QuoteIf you made 47K in the 60s and a home was under 100 K and then 50 years later the same level job gets paid 52K and the same house is 300K its more difficult to own the same home is it not? If you peg the American dream on a job description rather than income, of course you will fail. Like i said, research. If you want the american dream, you are going to have to research trends. Things that were important then are not so important now. That Sixties job isn't going to pull that much income because the Sixties are over along with it's needs. That same level job may now be able to be outsourced or is considered unskilled labor. You are supposed to earn the American Dream; not have it given to you. Don't rely on the Labor market to provide for you._____________________________ "The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallingOsh 0 #102 October 31, 2009 Quote If you peg the American dream on a job description rather than income, of course you will fail. I personally think trying to peg the American dream as an income is a lot of the problem. When someone says the American dream is dead, that tells me they don't understand the concept. The American dream does not mean having what your neighbors have or owning a nice house with two cars working as a janitor. The America dream is working your way up and bettering the situation for your kids. Your kids start out a little better than you and work their way up. After a generation or two the family is much better off then where they started. The American dream is the opportunity to better one's situation through relentless hard work and the desire for your kids to have it better than you. It has nothing to do with a certain job or a set income. Quote You are supposed to earn the American Dream; not have it given to you. Absolutely. Quote Don't rely on the Labor market to provide for you. or the government, or the 'rich' kids down the street, or the people who've wronged you in the past, or anyone else. -------------------------------------------------- Stay positive and love your life. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Belgian_Draft 0 #103 October 31, 2009 The "American Dream" is different for each and every person who chases it. For some it is owning your own home debt free and retiring to spend the last 20 years of your life playing golf. To others it is floating from town to town, living off temporary jobs, never having to settle in one spot for any longer than you wish. Still others see it as working their butt off and accumulating mass amounts of wealth. I see the American Dream as being the opportunity to make the most of what you have and the freedom to live in poverty or wealth as you see fit. It goes without saying, of course, that opportunity and freedom are the only entitlements you get. There are no guarantees as to where these will lead or to what extent you will manage to take advantage of them.HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
christelsabine 1 #104 October 31, 2009 Quote The "American Dream" is different for each and every person who chases it. For some it is owning your own home debt free and retiring to spend the last 20 years of your life playing golf. To others it is floating from town to town, living off temporary jobs, never having to settle in one spot for any longer than you wish. Still others see it as working their butt off and accumulating mass amounts of wealth. I see the American Dream as being the opportunity to make the most of what you have and the freedom to live in poverty or wealth as you see fit. It goes without saying, of course, that opportunity and freedom are the only entitlements you get. There are no guarantees as to where these will lead or to what extent you will manage to take advantage of them. This is what *you* call an American dream? It sounds too familiar, could be found all over the world. Nothing special at all. dudeist skydiver # 3105 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nanook 1 #105 October 31, 2009 QuoteI personally think trying to peg the American dream as an income is a lot of the problem. What I meant as pegging it to income is: your income in the end is what's going to enable you to persue your dreams. I didn't mean it to say chase income; I meant it to say you need it and you should use that metric to figure out if you can afford that house (in reference to Darius's post)._____________________________ "The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Belgian_Draft 0 #106 October 31, 2009 Quote Quote The "American Dream" is different for each and every person who chases it. For some it is owning your own home debt free and retiring to spend the last 20 years of your life playing golf. To others it is floating from town to town, living off temporary jobs, never having to settle in one spot for any longer than you wish. Still others see it as working their butt off and accumulating mass amounts of wealth. I see the American Dream as being the opportunity to make the most of what you have and the freedom to live in poverty or wealth as you see fit. It goes without saying, of course, that opportunity and freedom are the only entitlements you get. There are no guarantees as to where these will lead or to what extent you will manage to take advantage of them. This is what *you* call an American dream? It sounds too familiar, could be found all over the world. Nothing special at all. Uh, I think you missed my point entirely. The American Dream is what you make it. The situations i listed are merely examples of which there are as many as there are people who have a dream. Yes, it can be found all over the world. Unfortunately there are far too many places where any such dream can never be more than that.HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #107 October 31, 2009 Quote If you made 47K in the 60s and a home was under 100 K and then 50 years later the same level job gets paid 52K and the same house is 300K its more difficult to own the same home is it not? It's better to make this point with real numbers. There's no job that paid 47k 50 years ago, and now only pays 52. And the houses were much less than 100k then, or they wouldn't be 300k now. I think your point would end up being that the change between 50 years ago and now is it takes both parents working to maintain the same house and standard of living. But...back then, the job market was artificially constrained by discrimination against women and minorities. This results in higher salaries than it would otherwise be. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nanook 1 #108 October 31, 2009 Quote Quote The "American Dream" is different for each and every person who chases it. For some it is owning your own home debt free and retiring to spend the last 20 years of your life playing golf. To others it is floating from town to town, living off temporary jobs, never having to settle in one spot for any longer than you wish. Still others see it as working their butt off and accumulating mass amounts of wealth. I see the American Dream as being the opportunity to make the most of what you have and the freedom to live in poverty or wealth as you see fit. It goes without saying, of course, that opportunity and freedom are the only entitlements you get. There are no guarantees as to where these will lead or to what extent you will manage to take advantage of them. This is what *you* call an American dream? It sounds too familiar, could be found all over the world. Nothing special at all. It's not supposed to be special. When americans have dreams, they are American Dreams; When canadians have dreams, they have Canadian Dreams, ect. ect. . It's country people philosophizing within their hemogeony. Not all adjetives are out to get you._____________________________ "The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallingOsh 0 #109 October 31, 2009 QuoteQuoteI personally think trying to peg the American dream as an income is a lot of the problem. What I meant as pegging it to income is: your income in the end is what's going to enable you to persue your dreams. I didn't mean it to say chase income; I meant it to say you need it and you should use that metric to figure out if you can afford that house (in reference to Darius's post). Gotcha. I'd agree with that. Your income should dictate what lifestyle you live. You shouldn't pick a lifestyle and then bitch because your job or circumstances don't cover it. -------------------------------------------------- Stay positive and love your life. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites