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Is the Dream Still Achievable?

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Is the Dream Still Achievable?
Is The Dream Still Achievable?
“American Dream” a term coined by James Truslow Adams in his book “The Epic of America” (404). Throughout time the American Dream has become harder to achieve, as the world is ever changing so are the aspirations of those who want to fulfill the American Dream. I believe that in a society where “93 percent of all financial wealth is controlled by the top 10 percent of the country” (My Budget 360), that there is a diminishing dream. So then this brings me to the question, is the American Dream still achievable? I believe that the answer is no. The lack of quality in education is contributed to less money being invested in education, financial stability, and a pessimistic society. That is why I believe the American Dream is no longer achievable.
In today’s economic turmoil, schools have been receiving budget cuts across the board. A perfect example would be Lamar University of Texas whose budget was cut by 15 million dollars (Moore) just this year. Furthermore Lamar University lost 120 employees (Moore). Since schools are getting money taken away from them they have to seek elsewhere to recuperate what they have lost; as a result colleges and universities have increased their tuition. We see that the rise in tuition is keeping low and moderate income students from ever attending a higher education institute (Zaho). On the same note Kindergarden-12th grade schools now have more students per classroom, meaning more students less teachers. This effects how much a teacher can teach a student overall, and how much attention one teacher can focus on one student throughout the year. The desired teacher to student ratio is now encroached upon. “There are less supplies, less teachers, less field trips, less extracurricular activities” said Principal Marshall; he later went on to say “The money being taken from education is lowering the overall quality of education” (McCartney).
Financial stability is another cause why Americans are losing



Cited: * The Burning Platform. N.p., 30 Jan. 2011. Web. 7 Sep. 2011 * MyBudget360 * Domhoff, William. “Wealth, Income, and Power.” Who Rules America? University of California at Santa Cruz, Sep. 2005. Web. 7 Sep. 2011 * Strachan, Maxwell * Robert McCartney. “Budget cuts, falling prestige take a toll on teacher. “The Washington Post” 4 Sep. 2011, ProQuest National Newspapers Core, ProQuest. Web. 7 Sept 2011 * Amy Moore * Zhao, Emmeline. “Fewer Low-Income Students Going to College.” Real Time Economics. N.p., 07 July 2010. Web. 7 Sep. 2011. * Yuan, Teresa. “More Kids, Fewer Teachers For Lake Stevens Classrooms.”King5.Com. N.p., 30 Aug. 2011. Web. 7 Sep. 2011. * Longley, Robert. “Two Thirds Feel American Dream Harder to Achieve.”About.com. N.p., 1 Oct. 2004. Web. 7 Sep. 2011. * Thomas, Mark. “How Many People Have Lost Their Jobs?” Economist View. N.p., 18 Sep. 2008. Web. 7 Sep. 2011. * “United States Unemployment Rate.” Trading Economics. N.p., Aug. 2011. Web. 7 Sep. 2011. * Farnham, Alan. “Gas Prices Going Up.” ABC World News. N.p., 21 Feb. 2011. Web. 7 Sep. 2011. * WIlson, William Julius. When Work Disappears: Introduction to College Reading And. Ed. Svetlana Lynch. N.p.: Pearson, n.d.  Web. 7 Sep. 2011. * Robert McCartney. “Budget cuts, falling prestige take a toll on teacher. “The Washington Post” 4 Sep. 2011, ProQuest National Newspapers Core, ProQuest. Web. 7 Sept 2011

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