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Emma Szabo
Professor Jodi Weiss
ENC1101
05 December 2016
The Fading American Dream
Accessible opportunities, prospects, and well-being are what people wish for from all
around the world. Known as the eminent American Dream, which has lured people from all
around the world in the pursuit of a successful lifestyle, no longer exist. According to Paul
Krugman’s essay, “Confronting Inequality”, the American Dream has turned into an
unachievable concept due to the egregious inequality which remorselessly deprives people of
opportunities and personal development.
Having the precious ability to live up to their potential, and reach success while
possessing happiness are the verifying reasons why people are striving to accomplish the
American Dream. As the theory professes, pure effort and persistence seasoned with luck, are
enough to achieve higher standards and exceed expectations. It was true in the early 1970s when
every drop of perspiration is worth the success. The current economic situation is clearly
providing an impediment for individuals whose main purpose is to improve and acquire a
comfortable well-being status.
The gap between rich and poor has been prominently increasing since the 1980s. The
ambitious middle-class is slowly diminishing while the affluent are getting richer and the lower
class is getting poorer. “The fact that vast income equality brings vast social inequality in its

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train. And this social inequality isn’t just a matter of envy and insult. It has real, negative
consequences for the way people live in this country” (Krugman 563). Parents are striving to
provide a good education for their infants; the proper and desirable school districts are
extenuating, and the cost to live there is substantially increasing.
Education is clearly playing a vital role in children’s lives because a lousy start could
destroy their hopeful prospects and opportunities. Inequality has also intruded into the school
system; many highly extoled education institutions tend to accept brides from wealthy parents to
accept their idle youngsters, declining the diligent, industrious youth whom families are barely
capable to afford the school fees. Another stunning injustice emerged during a study where
family status exceeded the test scores achieved by the students (Krugman 566). Colleges and
universities are pricey and scholarships are often inviable to cover attendance. Evidently, affluent
family status dearly matters in the case of education.
On the other hand, the population cannot claim that the American dream premise is dead
because of the distribution of money and the governing power of the wealth. There are
undeniable benefits for people who live in the United States: from the tenable freedom to the
remarkably high GDP (gross domestic product). Every American citizen possesses the granted
freedom which is protected by the Bill of Rights. Americans treat their poor, old, disabled
individuals better than any other county in the world; government is consistently striving to
provide aid for people who are in need and indigent, for instance social security, welfare and
other forms of government support save millions from hopelessness. In the essay, “The
American Dream: Dead, Alive or on Hold?” Author Brandon King accentuates the immorality of
the American Dream. As a matter of fact, The American Dream was able to conquer the great

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depression, the economic shrinking in 1979, and the economic collapse in 2008; hereby, it is
going to be victorious against inequality, and other dicey prospects. “The American Dream will
continue to exist as a part of the American psyche, not artificially stimulated by government
regulations to change income distribution” (Brandon 578)
America still offers great prospects for a successful life compared to other countries. In
the essay, “America Remains the World’s Beacon of Success” Author Tim Roemer emphasizes
that the United States has great advantages, accessible markets, thriving information technology,
improvements in production capability, and investment, and developed education, environmental
protections. “I learned that America is still deeply admired around the world and the place where
many people want to live out their dreams” (Roemer 618).
Cleary, the American Dream is quickly fading because of the deteriorating opportunities
to achieve a successful life. This is especially true in terms of income inequality which makes it
increasingly arduous for the middle class and the lower middle class to get ahead and experience
continuing financial stability. Another example of the fading American Dream is the inequality
fosters by higher education. It is widely accepted that education is the key to success; however,
the extravagant coasts limit access to post-secondary education to the wealthy and upper middle
class. It is fully recognized that despite the negatives that impact the American Dream, there
have been and always will be glorious undeniable benefits for people living in the United States.

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Works Cited
Krugman, Paul. “Confronting Inequality.” They Say/I Say. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein,
and Russel Dust, Norton, W. W. & Company: 2015. Print. pp. 561-578.
Roemer, Tim. “America Remains the World’s Beacon of Success.” They Say/I Say. Ed. Gerald
Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Dust, Norton, W. W. & Company: 2015. Print. pp.
618-621.
King, Brandon. “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” They Say/I Say. Ed. Gerald
Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Dust, Norton, W. W. & Company: 2015. Print. pp.
610-616