Thursday, July 13, 2006
American Dream Is Slipping Away
Long week--three articles leaving me little time to seek out those by others to post here. Not that there haven't been some. The issue over the possible scheme to create a North American Union is still around. But this article won the day. Of course, eroding our borders will make the situation it describes ten times worse.
The American dream may have slipped away, but as the later paragraphs indicate, so has the capacity of the American public to think fundamentally about what to do to get it back. No indication of turning from Republicrats and Demopublicans; no indication of a need to change the "political system" at a fundamental level; no indication that the "system" might be the problem.
Here are some solutions: support candidates from public office who:
(1) Are neither trained Donkeys nor hired Elephants (so to speak).
(2) Will agree to shut down the Federal Reserve and return to Constitutionally sound money (value regulated by Congress, not private bankers).
(3) Will agree to shut down the Internal Revenue Service and end the direct, unapportioned tax on personal incomes.
(4) Will agree to secure, unequivocally, private property rights.
(5) Will get the U.S. out of the United Nations, out of NAFTA, out of CAFTA, out of the WTO.
(6) Will end federal education programs such as School-To-Work and No Child Left Behind, and shut down the U.S. Department of Education.
Too radical for today's timid American public, I suppose. Which is why we can probably expect more of the same, this November. But if you keep doing what you've been doing, you'll continue getting the results you've been getting. Which means: the American dream will continue slipping away, in the face of cosmetic, touchy-feely "let's all work together" non-solutions.
Aspen Daily News
Thurs 13 July 2006
Study: American dream slipping away
Belly Up Aspen
Troy Hooper - Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Wed 07/12/2006 09:01PM MST
The American dream is closer to a hallucinatory hope than a reachable reality, according to a new study presented at The Aspen Institute last week.
With the cost of living rising on several fronts, the majority of Americans surveyed in the study "What Do American Voters Really Want in '06?" said they are not living the dream that the European settlers who first founded this country suggested could be realized through hard work, courage and a determination to improve one's life.
Even though 81 percent of those surveyed agree the United States is the land of opportunity, they also said the concept is not being achieved and is abstract. The study indicated 61 percent of Americans say they are not living the dream and nearly two-thirds of those who are not living it don't believe they will achieve the dream in their lifetime. Dr. Douglas E. Schoen, a nationally renowned pollster, conducted the study.
In a presentation at the Greenwald Pavilion, Schoen said the study's goal was to go beyond the simplistic polls in newspapers that show President Bush is currently not popular. He said the study examines the undercurrents that are driving and shaping American attitudes, and, for many citizens, their dreams of a better life are directly tied to their finances.
"There is a growing affordability crisis in America," said Schoen, a pollster for more than 30 years who has worked with former President Bill Clinton, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine. "The American dream is largely broken, if not irreversibly destroyed."
In fact, the study found that 75 percent of those surveyed believe the American dream is somewhat broken, with just one in four saying it is alive and well. Nine out of 10 agree that it is harder to achieve the American dream than ever before. Moreover, just 49 percent agree that if you work hard and play by the rules, a solid middle-class life can be achieved.
"The rising costs of health care, the unaffordability of a college education and the need to self-finance your retirement leaves most Americans today caught in an affordability crisis," Schoen said.
"Americans from all income groups are simply saying life as we know it, has become unaffordable and that the promise of achieving the American dream is simply out of reach for too many people."
He added: "There is sadness in the country."
The study says the consensus of Americans believe that neither the Democrats or the Republicans can satisfactorily address the "crisis," and despite six years of Republican control of the White House and Congress, there is no desire to give more control to the Democrats.
"The American people are really looking for moderate and even conservative policy prescriptions," said Schoen, noting that 72 percent of those surveyed agree today's world has changed but our political parties have not. "There is no sense the country should move to the left after six years of Republicans and there is no sense the country should move farther to the right either."
Americans' centrist attitudes are supported, according to Schoen, by the study's findings that 74 percent said the government should pursue policies that grow the economy compared with just 26 percent who say that the government should redistribute wealth from the richest to the middle class and the poor. Almost two-thirds also said the government should play a constructive role in traditional institutions such as church, marriage and family.
Almost everyone surveyed, or 95 percent, agreed with the statement that "Our country is strongest when it is united and together and therefore we need to find common solutions to our problems that both Democrats and Republicans can agree with." Working together, 80 percent agree the United States can address all the problems it faces, according to the study's findings.
Even though Schoen's analysis determined that neither Democrats or Republicans can address the nation's affordability problems, he declared that the party offering the most tangible solutions would benefit in the November election.
"I think it is clear what the American people want. I think it is unclear given our political system of how we can achieve that goal," Schoen said.
The Aspen Institute commissioned the study in conjunction with last week's Aspen Ideas Festival, which brought many of the world's thought leaders to town. The survey was conducted among 1,200 U.S. voters and has a 1.44 percent margin of error, according to Schoen.
"The Aspen Ideas Festival is in large measure a reflection of America in 2006 and what better way to get an understanding of our times than to utilize the skills of a renowned pollster. Doug Schoen has proven himself to be a reliable resource for that. He had offered it up and we thought it was a terrific idea to show what America is thinking," said Aspen Institute spokesman Jim Spiegelman.
hoop@aspendailynews.com
The American dream may have slipped away, but as the later paragraphs indicate, so has the capacity of the American public to think fundamentally about what to do to get it back. No indication of turning from Republicrats and Demopublicans; no indication of a need to change the "political system" at a fundamental level; no indication that the "system" might be the problem.
Here are some solutions: support candidates from public office who:
(1) Are neither trained Donkeys nor hired Elephants (so to speak).
(2) Will agree to shut down the Federal Reserve and return to Constitutionally sound money (value regulated by Congress, not private bankers).
(3) Will agree to shut down the Internal Revenue Service and end the direct, unapportioned tax on personal incomes.
(4) Will agree to secure, unequivocally, private property rights.
(5) Will get the U.S. out of the United Nations, out of NAFTA, out of CAFTA, out of the WTO.
(6) Will end federal education programs such as School-To-Work and No Child Left Behind, and shut down the U.S. Department of Education.
Too radical for today's timid American public, I suppose. Which is why we can probably expect more of the same, this November. But if you keep doing what you've been doing, you'll continue getting the results you've been getting. Which means: the American dream will continue slipping away, in the face of cosmetic, touchy-feely "let's all work together" non-solutions.
Aspen Daily News
Thurs 13 July 2006
Study: American dream slipping away
Belly Up Aspen
Troy Hooper - Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Wed 07/12/2006 09:01PM MST
The American dream is closer to a hallucinatory hope than a reachable reality, according to a new study presented at The Aspen Institute last week.
With the cost of living rising on several fronts, the majority of Americans surveyed in the study "What Do American Voters Really Want in '06?" said they are not living the dream that the European settlers who first founded this country suggested could be realized through hard work, courage and a determination to improve one's life.
Even though 81 percent of those surveyed agree the United States is the land of opportunity, they also said the concept is not being achieved and is abstract. The study indicated 61 percent of Americans say they are not living the dream and nearly two-thirds of those who are not living it don't believe they will achieve the dream in their lifetime. Dr. Douglas E. Schoen, a nationally renowned pollster, conducted the study.
In a presentation at the Greenwald Pavilion, Schoen said the study's goal was to go beyond the simplistic polls in newspapers that show President Bush is currently not popular. He said the study examines the undercurrents that are driving and shaping American attitudes, and, for many citizens, their dreams of a better life are directly tied to their finances.
"There is a growing affordability crisis in America," said Schoen, a pollster for more than 30 years who has worked with former President Bill Clinton, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine. "The American dream is largely broken, if not irreversibly destroyed."
In fact, the study found that 75 percent of those surveyed believe the American dream is somewhat broken, with just one in four saying it is alive and well. Nine out of 10 agree that it is harder to achieve the American dream than ever before. Moreover, just 49 percent agree that if you work hard and play by the rules, a solid middle-class life can be achieved.
"The rising costs of health care, the unaffordability of a college education and the need to self-finance your retirement leaves most Americans today caught in an affordability crisis," Schoen said.
"Americans from all income groups are simply saying life as we know it, has become unaffordable and that the promise of achieving the American dream is simply out of reach for too many people."
He added: "There is sadness in the country."
The study says the consensus of Americans believe that neither the Democrats or the Republicans can satisfactorily address the "crisis," and despite six years of Republican control of the White House and Congress, there is no desire to give more control to the Democrats.
"The American people are really looking for moderate and even conservative policy prescriptions," said Schoen, noting that 72 percent of those surveyed agree today's world has changed but our political parties have not. "There is no sense the country should move to the left after six years of Republicans and there is no sense the country should move farther to the right either."
Americans' centrist attitudes are supported, according to Schoen, by the study's findings that 74 percent said the government should pursue policies that grow the economy compared with just 26 percent who say that the government should redistribute wealth from the richest to the middle class and the poor. Almost two-thirds also said the government should play a constructive role in traditional institutions such as church, marriage and family.
Almost everyone surveyed, or 95 percent, agreed with the statement that "Our country is strongest when it is united and together and therefore we need to find common solutions to our problems that both Democrats and Republicans can agree with." Working together, 80 percent agree the United States can address all the problems it faces, according to the study's findings.
Even though Schoen's analysis determined that neither Democrats or Republicans can address the nation's affordability problems, he declared that the party offering the most tangible solutions would benefit in the November election.
"I think it is clear what the American people want. I think it is unclear given our political system of how we can achieve that goal," Schoen said.
The Aspen Institute commissioned the study in conjunction with last week's Aspen Ideas Festival, which brought many of the world's thought leaders to town. The survey was conducted among 1,200 U.S. voters and has a 1.44 percent margin of error, according to Schoen.
"The Aspen Ideas Festival is in large measure a reflection of America in 2006 and what better way to get an understanding of our times than to utilize the skills of a renowned pollster. Doug Schoen has proven himself to be a reliable resource for that. He had offered it up and we thought it was a terrific idea to show what America is thinking," said Aspen Institute spokesman Jim Spiegelman.
hoop@aspendailynews.com
Comments:
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wow - the muddle in the middle calling the kettle black. The methods used for rejecting outlying data allow the researchers to cherry pick their data and statistics by finding criteria to reject any input that they don't feel is valid. ouch
i do agree with your six points and have once again started carrying my pocket constitution. But the rule of law doesn't really follow that document in the current form, so by trying to get people to beleive in it is really just lip service and people recognize that too.
or maybe they dont. maybe they've been lemmings long enough that they beleive what they read, without jumping around, checking references and looking at the overall consistency of the picture they are building. instead of worrying about the public schools and their government tit, lets just start teaching affordable classes with content and no credit - for knowledge truth and wisdom rather than the puesuit of the dollar.
You might also look up Vince LoCascio's book Special Privilege, which descibes in detail what happens behind the Oz curtain of the current fiat system.
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i do agree with your six points and have once again started carrying my pocket constitution. But the rule of law doesn't really follow that document in the current form, so by trying to get people to beleive in it is really just lip service and people recognize that too.
or maybe they dont. maybe they've been lemmings long enough that they beleive what they read, without jumping around, checking references and looking at the overall consistency of the picture they are building. instead of worrying about the public schools and their government tit, lets just start teaching affordable classes with content and no credit - for knowledge truth and wisdom rather than the puesuit of the dollar.
You might also look up Vince LoCascio's book Special Privilege, which descibes in detail what happens behind the Oz curtain of the current fiat system.
<< Home
