Less than 20% of Americans say they're living the American Dream

[Kathandira]

People consider 300k for a house not affordable? I live on the westcoast of Canada and my 2bdrm condo cost close to double what your house cost lol. Try living on the westcoast when houses cost no less than 900k in town; most are over a million. Suburbs (30-60 min outside of town) houses range from 650-900k.

If I could get a house for 300k I'd be a 6 hour drive away from my office

Two words, Wage Gap. And i'm not talking about the gender wage gap, just the normal gap between the middle class and the upper class. I have a respectable job, between my g/f and I we made a decent income. But we still can't afford a house.

[Enthusiastic Steward]

People consider 300k for a house not affordable? I live on the westcoast of Canada and my 2bdrm condo cost close to double what your house cost lol. Try living on the westcoast when houses cost no less than 900k in town; most are over a million. Suburbs (30-60 min outside of town) houses range from 650-900k.

If I could get a house for 300k I'd be a 6 hour drive away from my office

Salaries vary from region to region along with housing prices.

[Fugus]

What is the American Dream? The American Dream means different things to different people.

Some think of it as it's making over a million dollars but most say it's home ownership, a car and enough left over to pay the bills, your job will cover your health care.

So if you're in West Virginia you can achieve the American Dream for under $30K a year. If you're living in San Francisco you'll need about $100K a year.

I believe the most widely accept view of the American Dream is the ability to own a home, raise a family and support yourself with enough money left over to actually enjoy life.

I don't think you can own a home, have a family, and raise kids with enough money left over to actually enjoy life on or under $30,000 per year anywhere in America.

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People consider 300k for a house not affordable? I live on the westcoast of Canada and my 2bdrm condo cost close to double what your house cost lol. Try living on the westcoast when houses cost no less than 900k in town; most are over a million. Suburbs (30-60 min outside of town) houses range from 650-900k.

If I could get a house for 300k I'd be a 6 hour drive away from my office

Keep in mind, the average home costs $185,000 in America. The average worker makes $26,900 per year in America without having near the benefits in Canada.

Not many people are going to be able to do that even on a 30 year mortgage and survive.

[Theodarzna]

Like any dream, you must be asleep to believe it.

[Softbottom]

I believe the most widely accept view of the American Dream is the ability to own a home, raise a family and support yourself with enough money left over to actually enjoy life.

I don't think you can own a home, have a family, and raise kids with enough money left over to actually enjoy life on or under $30,000 per year anywhere in America.

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Keep in mind, the average home costs $185,000 in America. The average worker makes $26,900 per year in America without having near the benefits in Canada.

Not many people are going to be able to do that even on a 30 year mortgage and survive.

So for the average worker the average house cost is 6.87x their yearly salary. Where i live the average house cost is $820,000 and average salary is just shy of 70k which makes the the average house cost 12x yearly salary (which is insane).

[Fugus]

So for the average worker the average house cost is 6.87x their yearly salary. Where i live the average house cost is $820,000 and average salary is just shy of 70k which makes the the average house cost 12x yearly salary (which is insane).

I gave national median income and home costs, not the highest measures and you also forget all the benefits you get that the US doesn't from their taxes.

[Seranthor]

So you're just going to ignore everything I've said because you found an apartment going for $500? Do you actually think that means everyone has access to them? Please feel free to actually go back and reread my posts and answer my followup questions, specifically about how many people have access to these apartments considering their proportion available.

I am going to tell you I'm tired of playing your game... you made your bullshit claim, your bullshit claim was debunked... now go away.

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Then they are going to have a hard time when the independent candidates have more in common with their base than they do. Independents voters already make up the biggest voting block and likely to continue to grow.

And if they (Republicans included) don't start setting up a system where 3rd parties become more viable, then things will continue to get more rocky for them so long as they keep chasing donors rather than voters.

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Expert, hardly. Educated on the subject matter enough to know better than what you are saying, definitely.

If people want 3rd parties then they need to form them, fund them and grow them. It is not the responsibility of the Dems or the GOP to make that possible.

[Fugus]

If people want 3rd parties then they need to form them, fund them and grow them. It is not the responsibility of the Dems or the GOP to make that possible.

You really need to learn how things work. If 3rd parties were viable then we would have them. The system is setup to prevent them from becoming viable. Till that happens, you get this and things will continue to get worse so long as they keep trying to ignore the voters.

[Seranthor]

You really need to learn how things work. If 3rd parties were viable then we would have them. The system is setup to prevent them from becoming viable. Till that happens, you get this and things will continue to get worse so long as they keep trying to ignore the voters.

Why dont you teach me oh wise one... Did the GOP not start as a 3rd party? I am certain they did. 3rd parties rise and fall on their message and their ability to bring people into their tent. It is THEIR responsibility to do that. It is not the responsibility of the GOP or the Dems... if that is wrong, then I really hope you offer your evidence on why that observation is in correct.

It would seem by your last sentence that if the GOP and Dems continue then your desire of a 3rd party will become more viable... Isn't that what you want?

[Varitok]

Stop letting foreigners buy property and close all the loopholes that allow them to do so.

It worked really well for Zimbabwe.

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I'd rather rent and go enjoy life than buy and be house poor like so many people I know.

They are basically the same. Except with a mortgage you end up owning the house you're living in rather than flushing that money down the drain.

[Witchblade77]

Obviously people are going to choose



over this

I used to have top picture as my reality. the moment we could, we moved to greener version of image 2. still close enough to NYC to be able to work there, but not inside that hellhole. every time I go there whether to visit family who lives there or for any other reason, I'm reminded how much i LOVE my new place. no more cramped apartment with all the immediate sounds and smells from neighbours around you, really close around you. no more piss and garbage smelling air. blessed quiet. easily available parking. lower prices on everything, not just a house - I mean.... going to the movies in NYC was $50 NOT counting snacks for 2 people (might be more now - its counting round subway trip). where I am right now, its $12 without snacks and good seats are always available (counting gas money, just to be fair)

I do miss NYC public library a little.. but between internet and our local library, we do just fine. and speaking of internet. everything that is accessible in NYC, is ALSO accessible via online ordering. (and its not like we could afford to go to Broadway performances, etc much when living in NYC, we actualy can afford to just go to the city for the evening better now than we could when we actualy lived there)

tldr. city living is ovverrated

[NoRest4Wicked]

The American Dream means different things for different people. I started out making more money than my father did, and he raised 5 kids and supported a stay at home wife on his. While my dream wasn't to be more successful than my father, many parents dream their kids are.

[Fugus]

Why dont you teach me oh wise one... Did the GOP not start as a 3rd party? I am certain they did. 3rd parties rise and fall on their message and their ability to bring people into their tent. It is THEIR responsibility to do that. It is not the responsibility of the GOP or the Dems... if that is wrong, then I really hope you offer your evidence on why that observation is in correct.

It would seem by your last sentence that if the GOP and Dems continue then your desire of a 3rd party will become more viable... Isn't that what you want?

There have only been 3 parties in all of US history and and the Whigs only lasted for 20 years before it dissolved from what I have read.

Now, I will not go through all the cases of educating you because this is something that is very easy to look up on your own and basic knowledge to anyone that does.

But, with the 20 year exception of the Whig, the US has only had the Democratic and Republican party as the big parties. Our system is actually setup with our First Past the Post system to make sure that 3rd parties can never get big and amount to little more than spoiler votes to signal to the big 2 parties that they are straying too far from the voters.

If a 3rd party ever does form and get any size. The only 2 things that would happen under this system is either one of the parties adapts and eats it or it is eaten by one or both of the other 2 parties.


I would like for a 3rd, 4th, and even 5th party to become viable as to be more representative of the people and less easily corrupted. And our system is setup to actively that no 3rd party can ever actually being big enough to threaten the big 2 without eating one of them.

If the and the RNC and DNC completely dissolved and their members refused to join back. Even with 8 parties formed from the ashes, under the current system they would all end up consolidating back down to 2 big ones with maybe 1 to 3 small ones given how our system works.

You want viable 3rd parties, we need a ranked voting method that goes on popular vote. So long as we have our current system in place, 3rd parties will never be viable and anyone who wants an honest chance at running will have to go under the 2 big tents.

[spanishninja]

Probably because "balancing a chequebook" ranks up there with "how to operate a loom" in terms of uselessness. Nowhere accepts personal cheques anymore. It's all cash, debit, credit, or a cashier's cheque for particularly large amounts.

the term "balancing a checkbook" has nothing to do with writing personal checks, lol. It's the general idea that you should keep track of the money you are bringing in vs the money you are spending. The "balancing the checkbook" term is also used frequently in reference to government budgets, and spoiler alert, the government isn't actually writing personal checks for $1 billion dollars to pay for things either.

[Zomis]

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/19/less...can-dream.html



Not surprising given the wealth gap and rising inequality.
Which makes it really shocking that Bernie couldn't even win the Primaries let alone get elected. The one candidate who was actually going to allow more people to achieve the American dream.

Thanks to Obama it's true.

[Doctor Amadeus]

and of that 20%, 99% of them are delusional, and need drugs, sex, and every other resource to numb themselves to the fact they really have nothing.

[Fugus]

Thanks to Obama it's true.

Um.... This has been over 3 decades in the making. And just going since 2000, Bush Jr bares the lions share of that blame by a huge margin.

Not saying Obama was blameless, but he was minor at best compared to the others.

[Softbottom]

I gave national median income and home costs, not the highest measures and you also forget all the benefits you get that the US doesn't from their taxes.

which benefits are you speaking of?

[Fugus]

which benefits are you speaking of?

Healthcare for one, having a single illness setting you back a month or more between doctor bills and lost income is a huge thing.

[Taso]

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/19/less...can-dream.html



Not surprising given the wealth gap and rising inequality.
Which makes it really shocking that Bernie couldn't even win the Primaries let alone get elected. The one candidate who was actually going to allow more people to achieve the American dream.

Bernie was an ideologue he had no concept of how things work. Taxing Wallstreet to pay for healthcare and free college will not work he will eventually have to go after the Middle class to pay it. You can rally people based on a perception that society has failed them but let’s be real the “Great Recession” is not the Great Depression. This is a natural cycle and will happen irregardless of whose in charge. But now my question is why didn’t your people vote for the New Democrat party or the Communist(Marxist-Leninist)Party of Canada? Tradeu is pretty much wealthy.