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How Much is Enough:
The Death of the American Dream
BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
Greetings Buzzflash,
I would just like to start out by showing my appreciation of your informative site. It has provided me with a news source that doesn't have it's lips firmly attached to someone's rear end.
Now to the little point I would like to make. First of all, let it be known that I am not a very jealous person. I grew up going from lower class, to middle class then to destitution, learning of the world of the drug dealer from my mother at the age of 13. My mother became disabled after she broke 2 vertebrae in her neck from a serious infection and could no longer work and was repeatedly turned down for disability, hence why she got back into her past employment as a drug dealer. Not that I am condoning her actions, but you'd be surprised what you would do when desperate enough.
That time has passed. Now, I work at Wal-Mart, 40 hours a week, sometimes more. Making a meager but decent $7.55 and hour (just got a raise, yay me), which is actually a little above the norm in this expensive city I live in. I live in a one bedroom, shared kitchen/living area apartment making roughly 13,000 a year. Now, I am not trying to drum up sympathy, because I know my situation could be a lot worse and that some people hold two, even three jobs and go to school (which I find amazing, holding two jobs alone is not easy). I have no medical coverage, but that's nothing big, I haven't had medical coverage since I was about 12--even before then it was occasional.
Like I said, I am not a very jealous person, and my past has done nothing if not teach me to appreciate the things I do have because I know it can always get worse. However, something inside of me wants to scream in a contemptuous, rage each time I read of something that reminds me of the wealth gap in this country. I suppose you could call it a hate. It first started when I was about 10, my family (when it was together) went to a golf course to mess around for the day. But instead of my family being served first--which made sense since we were standing there waiting--the elderly couple that was behind us pulled out a wallet full of bills making themselves more worthy of service. Since that day I noticed how the "better off" get special treatment, and are able to get to places where typical people cannot, I began to despise the attitude these well-to-do people have, my grandfather is someone that lives in the upper-class (although he did earn it by serving in the navy for years) and his attitude was no different, rude, inconsiderate, and self-righteous.
I just fail to understand this country when it comes to such things. When I read about congress raising their pay last year from 150,000 to 154,700, I believe it was, and not even bothering to extend unemployment benefits, I literally wanted to kill someone. (This was just an example; I am mainly talking of those that make 300,000-1 million plus a year) I mean, seriously, how much does it take for you to be comfortable? How much do they have to buy? How much do they have to horde away to be content? It makes me angry, and feel almost pathetic when reading about how much some of these people make a year, or even a month. I sometimes wonder if these people could even contemplate living off of 13,000 a year or perhaps less. The thought would probably kill them due to the laughter it would cause. How much is enough?
A small observation, the last three years, there is one phrase I have yet to hear once from the White House or any type of media. It seems to have effectively died, it's "The American dream." Have the majority of people that make up this country and labor for it finally realized that this concept does not apply to them? If the American Dream was possible to be attainted by anyone, why is it the upper one percent are the only ones experiencing it? Just a small point I wanted to make. Thanks for your time...
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BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
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