American Dream, Is It Real Anymore?

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Without the American workforce demanding to be paid wage retirement might be just a thought. Wanting to retire when you get older, as earlier generations did, and enjoy a secure life after a lifetime of hard work might not be obtainable. The minimum wage workforce can no longer look forward to a secure retirement, but in reality they will still be working to pay off debts. "The United States has been slow to recognize that early retirement programs often do more long-term organizational harm than good"(Kim, Emmett, Sikula, 33). Employers are eager to make their older workers to retire early so they can replace them with younger employees. This sheds light on the situation Gertner describes "It's not like fixing the health-care system, or repairing the retirement system," he says. "It doesn't rise to that level directly. And if you list it in 10 issues, it doesn't pop out in priority"(Gertner, 10). Here the workforce knows that even though the minimum wage is an issue of itself, but it not as a big of a priority if the retirement system is in shambles. While employers are trying to have their elder workforce retire early, the older workforce know that retirement is not as pleasing as it used to sound. Middle-class Americans could not wait for their sixty fifth birthday to arrive to officially retire and be secure. Company's pensions used to guarantee a minimum income for the remainder of their life. With that being said any ordinary middle-class American could spend their retired years living comfortably. That is no longer the case with rising expenses. Worked a full-time job with minimum wages, debt is more likely doing to pile up. The rest of their lives is use to pay off those debts than being able to accumulate modest savings or any savings at all.

Working for reduced wages and having an expectation of personal time these cannot possibility be achieved, an education, staying home to raise your kids, crushing debt, and retiring comfortable. These used the main characteristics of a middle-class life, and they are slowly disappearing for most Americans. Can the American dream be restored? Yes, but it will take concerted effort. We must begin to address the problem of growing economic gap. The federal minimum wage should be a living wage, there should not be a minimum amount to be paid but an amount where one can live comfortable. Americans should not be working/ ”slaving” for a company just to make ends meet.