The American Dream Is Now Just That For Its Middle Classes Summary

So what has become of the American dream today? In his article titled The American Dream Is Now Just That for Its Middle Classes – a Dream, Michael Cohen says that “while a majority of Americans tenaciously continue to hold dear to the American Dream – that long-standing American ideal that if you work hard anything is possible – more and more people are reporting that the opportunity for social advancement feels increasingly out of reach for them and their children.” The truth is that “more and more people are being squeezed financially, faced with dismal job prospects (their only source of income) and on the blink of having to turn to the government for unemployment benefits, welfare support and other social insurance programs funded by tax extraction and national debt. Americans, for the most part, are in a mode of retrenchment even though they have tremendous pent-up demand and unfulfilled dreams for a more affluent life” (Reber, Web). Thus, even though the American Dream continues to be an integral part of our national identity, it is

Even in this land of plenty, millions of Americans are at risk of hunger. These are often hard-working adults, children and seniors who simply cannot always make ends meet and may be forced to go without food. An estimated 14.5 percent of American households were food insecure at least some time during the year in 2012, meaning they lacked access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, in 2012, 49.0 million people lived in food-insecure households; 12.4 million adults lived in households with very low food security; 8.3 million children lived in food-insecure households in which children, along with adults, were food insecure; and 977,000 children (1.3 percent of the Nation's children) lived in households in which one or more child experienced very low food