The Fading American Dream  

If  you are under 40 today, your share of the American Dream has been seriously compromised by the generations that have gone before you.  Sadly, those generations are not even aware of what they have done!  And, tragically, your generation appears to be traveling the same road. 

If you are over 40 today, you have heard tales of the financial collapse of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed.  The Great Depression was a financial catastrophe so severe it took ten years and a World War for our country to recover.  Few of us today actually lived through the Great Depression at an age old enough to understand it, so we are not able to recognize the severity of our current financial crisis.  Many economists are predicting it may take another collapses of this magnitude to wake up Americans to the unfunded excesses created by our unrealistic spending habits.

Those of us who entered the work force in the mid-60’s remember an average worker could buy a three-bedroom home in the suburbs and support a family on one income.  Today it takes two incomes to live that same lifestyle.  Your three bedroom, American Dream House cost about $15,000 in the mid 60’s—today that same house cost $150,000, up tenfold.  Our elected leaders like to tell us the reason is inflation, but consider that an average worker in the mid 60’s was making $5000/yr---today that same worker can make $50,000, also up tenfold.

So why does it take two incomes to support a modest lifestyle today?  Something has drastically changed in America.  Taxes now take one half of the average worker’s income; taxes on everything we earn and everything we spend to support our bloated and wasteful government.  If taxes take half of a workers income today, obviously it takes two incomes to achieve the same purchasing power we had with one income in the 1960’s.  Many economists predict that by the time our grandchildren are ready to purchase their “American Dream”, it will take three incomes, where will that third income come from?

Uncontrolled government spending is largely responsible for the desperate state of affairs in the United States today.  We currently have accumulated over fifty trillion dollars of government debt and unfounded liabilities.  This passes on to each family in America today a debt of $500,000 that will have to be repaid through higher taxes or a substantial compromise in our lifestyle.

Many are quick to say the problem is this younger generation because they want everything now.  They can’t wait like we did.  Let me remind those of you over 40 ; who spent the $50 trillion dollars and now wants to pass it on to the next generation.

The American dollar is declining in value because foreign investors no longer want to support our debt.  Unless we clean up our act soon, interest rates will rise and the purchasing power of your dollar will decline further as our government leadership tries to sweep this problem under the rug.  Even if you are over 65, you can’t avoid the declining value of your dollar, the loss of purchasing power and the reduction in benefits that will come.

Your lifestyle has been affected; your children’s lifestyle has been affected and will continue to be affected if you allow this irresponsible spending to continue.  Thousands of books articles, television and radio shows are dedicated to exposing the waste, fraud and mismanagement in our government today.  We need not take time here to enumerate these abuses of public trust but suffice to say, there is a serious problem.  The good news is there IS a solution!  The solution, however, requires you to take some action.

As citizens we have the right and the responsibility to determine how much government we want to buy.  We all know the ability to spend unlimited amounts of money is what leads to waste, fraud and inefficiency.  Your home or business would not long survive if you followed the irresponsible spending habits you allow your government.  Put your government on a fixed income and insist that they operate responsibly just like you operate your home or business.

Put your government on a fixed allowance and you will force it to operate more efficiently, waste less and reduce corruption.  Elected officials will be willing to follow, but you must take the lead!  We can’t hope to solve all the problems created over the last 50 years immediately and as responsible citizens we know we can’t hope to solve the immense problems in Washington unless we can first solve these problems in our own community.

Throughout this web site you will find ways you can make a difference. Take some action today!

If you do not take action, The American Dream will turn into a nightmare for our grandchildren and history will clearly show we were the culprits.