The American Dream is at a Standstill

Accuracy in Academia ^ | April 20, 2016 | Spencer Irvine

[Academiadotorg]

Now here's news you’re not likely to get from many commencement speeches, especially if they are given by Obama Administration officials, including the chief executive himself.

Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, believes that U.S. income mobility, or the rags-to-riches story of the American Dream, is at a standstill. At a presentation and panel discussion at the Hoover Institution, Petrilli pointed out the problems that American families are facing in today's economy.

He said that other countries, not the U.S., "tend to do better than we have" in income mobility. Petrilli said that the U.S. and the United Kingdom have a strong relationship, data-wise between generational income (i.e. parent's income linked to children's future income). He disagreed with President Barack Obama’s claim that all is well in America, "No, in fact, [income mobility] looks pretty stable" over time in the U.S. "People haven't seen a raise in decades," Petrilli added, and during recessions, America's "families started to fall apart."

Compared to the 1950s, in which 20% of American families were single-parent, today's percentage is more than 60%, Petrilli said. This is "an enormous change," said Petrilli, and it has led a substantial growth in the academic achievement gap by income. "Not surprising," he said, "but quite sobering" when there are both families where one parent works two jobs and the "helicopter, upper-middle class parents" and only one of these families' children has higher rates of success and income.

Petrilli believes that three major initiatives will help stop and reverse the growing academic achievement gap and income gap:

~"Balance college ‘obsession’ with renewed attention to technical education;”

~"Prioritize the needs of 'strivers,'" or those who are working hard and still need additional help and support; and

~"Encourage all students to follow the 'success sequence,'" which includes "delaying parenthood until they are ready.”

[Academiadotorg]

When you wake up from the American Dream, do you find the American nightmare?

[refermech]

I’m pretty convinced we lived the glory years and like so many societies before, we threw it all away.

[MHGinTN]

The American Dream is dead, not merely at a standstill. It was aborted by the globalist oligarchy using political correctness to bury the people in dacial fakery, and by destroying the education of the young, these same demons have prevented America from ever awakening tot he devilish work of the oligarchy in transforming the Republic. Fittingly, a blackman is at the helm as the death rattle rises.

[Poison Pill]

"delaying parenthood until they are ready.”

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

You're never "ready".

[FiddlePig]

What was once “The American Dream”... of hard work, innovation, motivation and entrepreneurship is now “bigotry”, “hate speech” and “white privilege”... to be eschewed and discarded. The “sin” of success is condemned as “income inequality”, “unfair” and “greed”. Our socialist “betters” (owners?) demand we “shelter in place” in our current condition and timidly accept only a rationed subsistence and a caste system under our “benevolent progressive” masters. The top “sin” of liberalism is to violate “equality” by seeking to better one’s economic standing and escape the “collective” (plantation)... such will now be punished as such pursuits “harm” the planet. Old Serpent smiles!

Our liberal “masters” of course, are exempt from all the above... as modern “progressivism” is really just the “Kings Land” feudalism of the past.

[LambSlave]

It’s not about skills and education, it’s about morality. Stop subsidizing immoral behavior and the American Dream can be restored. In so doing you will both permit real-time consequences to flow from bad behavior and incentivize moral behavior and productivity. Stop welfare/EIC/progressive taxation/SNAP/subsidized education/criminal coddling. Even better, restore free association, but that ship has sailed. Do this and you will stop dragging down those who wish to succeed and permit those who don’t to make hard choices early in life instead of persisting in behavior that ultimately destroys society.

[Wonder Warthog]

Actually, it IS about education. TRUE education includes morality. An educated populus is a moral populus.

[pabianice]

Petrilli believes that three major initiatives will help stop and reverse the growing academic achievement gap and income gap:

~"Balance college ‘obsession’ with renewed attention to technical education;”

**|only the stupid go into technical areas"

~"Prioritize the needs of 'strivers,'" or those who are working hard and still need additional help and support; and

**"elitist!"

~"Encourage all students to follow the 'success sequence,'" which includes "delaying parenthood until they are ready.”

**"racist!"

[Old Yeller]

Absolutely. There is no going back. America, for the most part, has rejected God. And I believe we will soon be reaping the whirlwind.