The American Dream has become just a pipe dream

The American Dream is a residual fantasy that we hold on to though it is now unobtainable by the majority of Americans.

The American Dream is defined in a number of ways.  Generally it involves the potential for upward mobility, prosperity, and the concept that each generation will live better than the generation before them.

There has been a silent assault on the American Dream over recent decades.  Capitalism combined with inadequate, ill advised, or non-existent regulation and greed have focused economic power in the hands of the few.  Excessive consumption, by individuals, families, and governments have brought expectations of prosperity and wealth to unsustainable levels, at the cost of burdensome debt.

When an individual or a family overspends and finds itself in excessive debt, it must change its ways.  It must earn more if it can, spend less, and pay down its debts.  This is made more difficult by the extra burden of the interest accruing on that debt, making the amount it will have to pay back grow over time.  Paying down this debt results in a period of decreasing prosperity, and a lower standard of living.   That period can be quite long if the debt load is large. 

Quite similarly, governments can find themselves in excessive debt, and must change their ways.  They must bring in more money if they can, spend less, and pay down its debts.  Interest payments provide a onerous burden to governments as well.

When, in the collective, a society lives beyond its means, and both the citizenry and their government have accrued large amounts of debt, prosperity declines and the "American Dream" is destined to fail.  As one generation has lived beyond its means, it has raised the bar of perceived prosperity to an unrealistic height.  The next generation not only finds that bar too high to attain for themselves, but is also saddled with the burdens of the previous generation.

This reality means that for now the American Dream has become just a pipe dream.  Any attempts to deny this truth and make policy to perpetuate the delusion will only make it worse and last longer.