Modern Society Threatens the American Dream

Since its inception, America has been known as the land of opportunity. For its earliest settlers it was the opportunity to start a new life free from the religious persecution of their homelands. For later immigrants, the opportunity was for a better and more stable financial future. Is America still the land it once was, or is the "American Dream," as it came to be known, rapidly slipping away?

Before I offer my take consider this information on job growth for recent presidents:

(Source: Wikipedia Jobs_Created_During_US_Presidential_Terms)

Eisenhower: 3.5 million jobs created over 8 years for a rate of .44 per year

Kennedy/Johnson:15.8 million jobs created over 8 years for a rate of 1.98 per year

Nixon: 6.2 million jobs created over 4 years for a rate of 1.55 per year

Nixon/Ford: 5.1 million jobs created over 4 years for a rate of 1.27 per year

Carter: 10.3 million jobs created over 4 years for a rate of 2.57 million per year

Reagan: 16.1 million jobs created over 8 years for a rate of 2.01 million per year

George H W Bush: 2.6 million jobs created over 4 years for a rate of .65 million per year

Clinton: 22.7 million jobs created over 8 years for a rate of 2.83 million per year

GW Bush: 3.7 million jobs created over 8 years for a rate of .46 million per year

According to this chart, overall job growth has plunged since 2000 in ways not seen in over 50 years. Even the slower Job growth rate under Eisenhower can be mitigated by the reality that in those days jobs often lasted longer(ie for life) and that in the typical household a single earner was often all that was needed to maintain a middle class lifestyle. The single worker reality essentially cut the available workforce in half compared to what it is now. Also consider, that with each new presidential term the nations population grows faster. Therefore, a greater number of actual jobs needs to be created with each passing year just to keep pace with the overall population growth.

Even more alarming is the nature of the new jobs created since 2000. Unlike the bread and butter manufacturing jobs of the past, jobs that provided a liveable salary and good benefits, most jobs created since 2000 have been in the service industry. Jobs like waiter/waitress, maintenance worker, call centers, and food service accounted for much of the growth in the 'new' economy. Honest jobs certainly but with pay ranges far less than the manufacturing jobs that they replaced. As for the benefits? well the main benefits of these new jobs are the food and shelter the pay provides. Exploding health care costs simply makes it impossible for employers to provide decent benefits in many service area professions.

Implicit in the idea of opportunity is not just the availability of jobs but also the ability to advance in a chosen field. Traditionally, it was not uncommon for a factory worker to start as a floor sweeper, move to assembly and eventually become a foreman. If a person was especially diligent even becoming President of the company was not out of reach. Sadly, there is seldom much room for advancement in most of the post 2000 jobs. Most of the advancement in the food service industry , for example, is limited to advancing the tray to the customer. Unless there is a change and soon, more and more people will be consigned to such 'dead end' professions.

Such a change in the nature of work threatens the whole notion of the work ethic. Traditionally, the American work ethic evolved through a carrot and stick approach. The idea that if a person worked hard enough they could move up the ladder where a better life awaited was the carrot. The idea that if a person was lazy and/or incompetent they could soon find themselves sans employment served as the stick. When opportunities for advancement are taken away, the carrot itself is gone. What that leaves is nothing but the stick. The stick approach was tried for several hundred years. It went by a different name though: it was called slavery.

Complicating matters is the reality that most of the new jobs created do not require a college degree. Yet since 2000 there have been more than 10 million new college graduates in the United States alone. Add to this total the millions of college educated immigrants who have come to the United States in recent years and you have a frightening reality. Simple mathematics dictates that 3.5 million new jobs(most of which do not require a college degree) falls well short of the number needed to accommodate these new additions to the workforce. How can you tell these graduates that all the hard work performed in the pursuit of their degrees was worth it when the labor market says otherwise? Especially when the rising costs of college all but guarantees most new graduates will leave school deep in debt. I would be remiss if I failed to mention the millions of new additions to the workforce who, ironically, were smart enough to not go to college. When more and more a college degree fails to open doors into the workforce, how can values like studying hard be promoted?

The solution to this crisis is as simple as it is complex. More jobs clearly need to be created, in particular jobs that offer the prospects for advancement, better salary and more benefits. Trends like outsourcing and layoffs need to be limited to stave off the future disillusionment of the American people. Failure to perform such tasks will serve not only to ruin the notion of a land of opportunity but also to relegate the American dream to just that...a dream