So Long, American Dream, It Was Good To Know You
George Carlin once cleverly noted, “That’s why they call it the American Dream- because you have to be asleep to believe it.” By the time he said that, it was a bleak but mostly true observation. But from the end of World War II, until the early 2000s, the American Dream was at least possible for most people to achieve.
I came from a lower middle-class family. No one graduated from college, and a few didn’t finish high school. I was born with bold fantasies, but little practical ambition. Clearly, I could have made a lot more money than I did. But I still managed to luck into a lovely version of the American Dream; loyal wife, a wonderful son and daughter, and a nice sized single family home in a very quiet neighborhood. And, of course, after I hit fifty, the sudden and unexpected fruition of my wildest dreams of becoming a published author. Ten books later, I realize just how fortunate I’ve been. I did little to deserve all the blessings I have. I’m sure I consistently fall short of being grateful enough for it all. But I can’t stop thinking of all those who didn’t have my luck. Who didn’t achieve the American Dream in any way, shape, or form. Now, things have deteriorated to such an extent that very few can hope to achieve it.
The American dream, as popularly expressed by politicians and media during the 1940s-1950s, meant owning your own home. Preferably with that white picket fence. A garden to tend to. A yard to mow, with no illegals around yet to do it. A faithful wife, who loved to cook for you, and didn’t mind housework. Who wanted as many children as you did. The larger the family the better. This Dream was much easier to achieve in the immediate postwar era. The girls would line up to marry you if you had served in the “good war.” It was kind of like being a doctor. And your job prospects were brighter as well, especially if you had won a medal or two. Every company liked to hire veterans. They were still everywhere you looked when I entered the workforce in the mid-1970s. Every one of those old timers I talked to had clearly experienced the American Dream. I don’t think I met any without a wife, kids, and a nice home.
So I understand the bitterness that many Millennials and Gen Zers feel toward the Boomers. We- especially the Boomers who are a decade or so older than me- were definitely the Luckiest Generation. We could pay for much more reasonable college tuition by working at a fast food place. Well, not me- as I’ve related far too many times, I was a community college dropout. Just about every job paid a living wage after World War II, up until maybe the early 1980s. Upward mobility was more possible than it ever had been before. It’s obviously very rare now. Unions were strong, and triggered higher wages, nicer benefits, and decent pensions. Even at non- union workplaces which wanted to be competitive. I knew a guy who was a cashier at Safeway in the early ‘80s. He was making $17 an hour, which translates to about $112,000 in today’s money. That same job at the same company pays less than $17 an hour to start. Today. Food prices in the ‘80s were m
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LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
