It is a fact that the US was founded as a nation based on ideals. Unlike other countries who look on their past as ethnic groups or in legends that have been passed down for generations, we as Americans know the very date that our United States became a country. The date is June 21st, 1788 and yes I know most of you assume it was the 4th of July in 1776 but the constitution wasn’t actually ratified on that day. Yet the point remains, the foundations of our nation are simple. They are scraps of paper on which men wrote down then idealistic hopes and dreams for a nation that would be a bastion of hope and liberty.
But is that still the case today?
Well from the outside looking in the answer appears complicated. Despite being the world’s largest economy and having one of the highest per capita GDP’s in the world we still lag behind many 1st world countries in the following aspects.
Per https://rankingamerica.wordpress.com/ we rank 44th in healthcare efficiency, 1st in number of convicts per capita, and 101st in relative peacefulness. Yet despite these dreary statistics make no mistake, the US is still a great place to live. We still rank in the top 30 amongst nations in accepting homosexuals, child life expectancy, and literacy.
So why does it seem the American dream is dead? Well the answer to that question is complex because like all problems in an increasingly fast paced and interconnected world, there are no such things as simple answers to simple questions. The main answer seems to be that the American is still in fact alive and well…..for some people.
The reason for this actually lies north of the US. That’s because on average your twice as likely to go from low income to high income in Canada than you are in the US. Now it is with a grain of salt that I say this however. That’s because whether or not you can accomplish the American Dream depends largely on where you live in the US. Cities such as San Francisco and Salt Lake City actually show higher potential for social mobility than Canada does as a country. However these are counteracted by cities with less social mobility such as Atlanta and Charleston.
It is also important to mention that we have seen a huge influx of tech savy immigrants come in and achieve the American dream in Silicon Valley. Companies like Google and Yahoo! were both started in part by immigrants who managed to come to the US and many other immigrants and native born Americans working in the tech industry have seen their salaries and earning potential skyrocket in recent years.
So the problem with the death of the American Dream is that it hasn’t died for everyone. Yet it is only a select few that truly reap its potential. So what can we do to adjust the American Dream in the 21st century? Well to be honest I don’t have the exact answer but I do have a few ideas.
Because of this high demand for jobs that require coding and computer based skills, I would suggest that more people teach themselves the basics of coding and how to use a select few programs. Websites like www.freecodecamp.com and https://www.codecademy.com/ help to teach people how to code for free and should see a rise in membership as more and more people adapting to the changing job market.
As of today, government programs like NAFTA’s Transitional Adjustment Assistance are starting to focus more and more on getting people the skills and expertise they need to get longer lasting, tech-based jobs. Though this is a positive step towards helping to end more recent structural unemployment caused by globalization, it still leaves us facing a difficult question.
Whether we like it or not it seems certain that automation is coming. That means the traditional view of the American Dream is in fact dead. No longer can unskilled laborers expect to work for 50 years doing a menial job and expect a decent pension at the end of it. However a new American Dream has arisen. People living in select cities with a background in engineering and computer science have a great opportunity to succeed in today’s America. Well that is if they are let into America in the first place.
But don’t worry high-skilled immigrants, If America isn’t feeling too cozy right now Germany is waiting for you.
Leave a Reply