this post was submitted on 05 May 2025
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According to a recent Gallup poll, 70% of Americans now believe the American Dream is no longer attainable for the average person. This stark figure represents a seismic shift in national consciousness.

The myth of American exceptionalism is crumbling under the weight of reality. Economic Collapse

The numbers tell a story of economic devastation wrought by unfettered capitalism. Since 1978, CEO compensation has grown 940%, while typical worker compensation has risen just 12%.

Three men now own more wealth than the bottom 50% of Americans combined.

Nearly 40% of Americans cannot afford a $400 emergency expense, according to the Federal Reserve, while Wall Street posts record profits.

“What we’re witnessing isn’t just inequality — it’s a systematic transfer of wealth from the working class to the ultra-wealthy,” says economist Dr. Thomas Piketty, author of “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.”

The average American worker needs to work 2.8 jobs to afford rent in most major cities, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Real wages, when adjusted for inflation, have remained essentially stagnant since the 1970s while productivity has increased by over 250%. Healthcare Crisis

Americans pay 2.5 times more for healthcare than citizens in other developed nations while receiving worse outcomes.

Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in America, with 66.5% of all bankruptcies tied to medical issues, according to the American Journal of Public Health.

“The American healthcare system isn’t broken — it’s functioning exactly as designed: to extract maximum profit while providing minimum care,” notes Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Over 500,000 families go bankrupt each year due to medical bills — a phenomenon that doesn’t exist in any other developed nation.

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[–] [email protected] -2 points 3 weeks ago

Why would anyone think that a nation is in decline because the majority of the citizens stopped believing a pernicious lie used to facilitate exploitation of working people. To me, people finally realizing that the American has long been absolute bullshit is a sign that Americans have finally grown the fuck up and our better days are to come.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

“What we’re witnessing isn’t just inequality — it’s a systematic transfer of wealth from the working class to the ultra-wealthy,” says economist Dr. Thomas Piketty, author of “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.”

Aka, a trickle-up economy.

Thanks, Reaganomics!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

There’s that ~30% again.

Wonder how much overlap there is with the MAGA Qaeda.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

There’s that ~30% again.

Some of the people all of the time.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago

House-Kids-Retirement: pick one if you're lucky, two if you're really lucky

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Good. Now do "freedom"

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago

The American Dream is still going strong; it's just the contents of the dream that have changed. Currently the dream is to get the fuck out of the US and into somewhere less dystopian.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

The average American worker needs to work 2.8 jobs to afford rent in most major cities, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Not even a "normal" fulfilling life and it requires 2 incomes. No house, no family, no savings, definitely not on a single income. I'm rapidly approaching 40 and have been single for a decade now so a happy relationship and 2 incomes in my life is about as likely to be a thing as unicorns are. Then COVID comes around, kills millions and destroyed the housing market so I've completely gave up on the idea that I'll ever own a home.

"Retirement" for me is a shotgun sandwich deep in the woods somewhere I won't be found.

Ahh the American dream.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Just do what I do:drugs and questionably safe activities

It'll work eventually

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

My body doesn't let me do drugs anymore lol everything gives me panic attacks that feel like heart attacks now

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah, I always say my retirement plan is a 12 guage.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

I prefer to say I'll die happy with a heart attack on a bicycle. Gonna keep trying to enjoy the little things for as long as I can even if everything says give up. Spite is a powerful motivator.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

This has been said every year since I was a kid and I'm so old I remember doctors smoking during examinations

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

It's been a long decline.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

1978 was more than 45 years ago.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes I know, I can count. The point I am making is shit has been going downhill steadily since Nixon

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 weeks ago

Agreeing with you lol

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago

30% are boomers who already have everything and are blind to the current situation.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

30% of people are pretty well off honestly

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

Everyone forgets we have a fucktonne of non-billionaire rich as well. The top 30% START at 100k a year

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago

I’d say thirty percent of Americans live comfortably, so I’m not surprised. And some others that aren’t comfortable still believe the propaganda that they might make in the future because they’re just down on their luck.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 3 weeks ago

"That's why they call it the American Dream, because you'd have to be asleep to believe it" --George Carlin

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago
[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 weeks ago

We've been granted eyes and we use them to see. The oligarchs aren't hiding any of this. Everything is visibly stagnant and the only movement is in these bitches' net worths. Nothing means anything anymore.