Student Debt And The American Dream

The idea of starting from the bottom and rising to the top of wealth and society through hard work is an oft repeated theme in the “American Dream paradigm.” The reality, however is in stark contrast to the rosy picture painted through political propaganda. The truth is that pulling one up by one’s bootstraps is rooted more in fantasy than reality. The fact is that the “American Dream” is virtually impossible to obtain because people lack resources, live in a poor location, and stagger under increasing debt. According to the American Psychological Association, families of low socioeconomic status (SES) are not likely to have the time and money that is needed to provide a child with academic support. For example, “Children’s initial
According to the Institute of College Access and Success, the average student debt after four years of college is $28,950 per borrower. For an individual obtaining a master’s degree the figure is around $43,500 and when taking in to account things such as residences and bar exams the figure is over $100,000. The burden of student debt has shown a negative effect in regards to starting a family, a business, and buying a home. A study submitted by the National Association of Realtors and SALT, a consumer literacy program provided by nonprofit Student Assistance states that 71 percent of those individuals saddled with student debt are putting off buying a home for more than five years after graduating. A 2016 study by Debt.org showed that eighty one percent of women born in the 1990s had never been married and thirty eight percent of women born in the 1980s still have not been married due to increased college debt. As a result of rising costs current college graduates are putting away twice as much as their parents to maintain a reasonably comfortable lifestyle when they decide to quit
When compared to children in 1940 the average upward income mobility was 90 percent. According to Raj Chetty increasing the United States’ GDP is not enough to reverse the widening gap in equality. The GDP growth must be dispersed more evenly across income groups to see any real progress (Chetty, Grusky, Hell, Hendren, Manduca, Narang, 2017). As result the decline in upward mobility can be reversed as much as 70 percent (Chetty, Grusky, Hell, Hendren, Manduca, Narang, 2017). Without significant changes to how economic growth is distributed the downward trend is sure to