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For many, and possibly most Americans, their net wealth is negative. Market value of all assets and equity minus all debts.
The homeless beggar in Calcutta, who sleeps on a piece of cardboard, owns his cardboard, and has no debt. His net wealth is positive. Most Americans are poorer than he is. Except for the dream.
I don't agree. I own a lot more than a piece of cardboard, and I have no debt. The rest of my family does not either. We were taught to pay as we go, not to overload ourselves with stuff we could not afford. There are more Americans like me than you would think.
I have always thought the stereotipical american dream was quite boring and makes people feel trapped in a situation they can never escape.The vast majorty of americans take on a massive amount of debt to get there. The house,the cars,the 2.5 kids and a dagree will almost garantee you to become a wage slave for the rest of your life.I geuss thats why drugs and acohol are so popular in this country, its the only way to escape for most people.I'm glad I decided never to get on the hampster wheel.
It's good that you realized what you didn't want in life before
you got those things (wife, kids, debt, etc.)and then were trapped
in a lifestyle that you never wanted.
I suspect that that is what happens to a lot of people who just
follow the herd and never consider if that's what they really
want from life.
My vision of the American Dream is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. From there, you can take that any direction you like, as long as it's not infringing on the next guys right to do the same. My vision of the American Nightmare is any attempt to stifle or forcibly predetermine the nature of that dream.
The thing that made this nation stand out in the beginning was that it was your choice. Before that, it was often the state's choice. That's why our ancestors left Europe in the first place. They wanted to think for themselves. If they wanted to live in a cave and eat crickets and that made them happy, that was their right as long as it was self-sustainable. But our modern version of the 'American Dream' is largely as you originally implied--a monetary hamster wheel. That may be some people's dream, but it shouldn't be forced to be everyone's. And I feel that's exactly what our leaders have been constructing for many years: a one-size-fits all American Dream centered almost solely around wealth and cradle-to-grave ass wiping. If you don't want wealth, or social programs jammed down your throat these days, you don't fit into the imposed collective American Dream and you are a tin-hatter. You're un-American.
My dream is a 250 sq ft cottage in flyover country somewhere, while minimizing my required expenses, minimizing my required income to meet those expenses, and maximizing my ability to self-sustain. The older I get, the more of a primitivist mentality I have. At one time, that idea would have been perfectly acceptable. But since it's not a very popular 'American Dream' in our materialistic balls-to-the-wall society, our government largely makes it difficult to live that way due to taxes, regulations, infringements, requirements, codes, etc. They say jump, you ask how high. Besides, there's nothing in it for them if we have a nation full of self-sufficient citizens as some of the founding fathers had envisioned.
Thus, we all get the 'pre-packaged American Dream' whether it's our own dream or not.
So, as for the OP question, I say go for it. Hit the road. If you have very little expense, you'll need to worry very little about income. And there are always little odd jobs here and there that other folks would never 'lower themselves' to do, yet would give you more than enough funding for your gypsy-like lifestyle. Especially if you are good with your hands. Most folks don't really want to work these days (as in manual labor). Any trade skill will go a long way--we have too many rocket scientists and not enough workers. Hell, you can even make sufficient money as a dog walker if you don't have a Lexus payment to make. If you don't need or want the 20,000 sf home, the Lexus, the 2.5 kids, the quadruple latte, and the white picket fence, I say more power to you--you have your own dreams and your own desires. Do it.
I don't agree. I own a lot more than a piece of cardboard, and I have no debt. The rest of my family does not either. We were taught to pay as we go, not to overload ourselves with stuff we could not afford. There are more Americans like me than you would think.
Aha. The old "if it didn't happen to me, it didn't happen" argument.
Please reread, and discover that I never said that the beggar on the cardboard is richer than YOU are. Which premise (false as it is, and not at all implied by mine) is the only one you are saying you disagree with.
Historically, the American Dream is the whole idea of the "Manifest Destiny." The Manifest Destiny gave many the idea of living in better conditions by moving westward to gain more opportunities and self empowerment in effort to live a more productive and successful life. In other words, live in paradise. This idea instilled in many that achievement and personal betterment was no longer a dream; it could become reality. As Dr. Martin L. King Jr. would state, “A dream deeply rooted in the American Dream.” Basically, the American Dream is a philosophy that life should be richer, comfortable, and better for everyone.
My American Dream has nothing to do with this stereotypical march through adulthood and consumption that people seem to think is the Dream (although disparage it).
I thought the Dream was that you could invent yourself, make your own way, take on or not take on those things and parts of life that you choose. Equality in the eyes of the law, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc. All the rights- free speech, free press, freedom of and from religion, all those good and valuable things.
I do remember that most people that came here as immigrants over the last two centuries came poor. Lucky if they could get work, never mind make enough money to live decently, feed their kids, not live in a tenement in a crumbling city.
Content of one's character. Call me naive, but I still believe in that.
It's got nothing to do with houses or cars or buying stuff. Nothing. That's advertising. Why do people rail so much against a marketing idea/image? If you don't want to do X, then don't do it. If you want to live Y, do your best to live that way. Is it so hard to think for one's self?
I agree that the "American Dream" is a form of control. Keep people borrowing, striving, busting their a**ess to the grave, all for an opportunity that often boils down to plain old luck and the assets they just happened to be born with (e.g. good looks and most importantly, good brain chemistry). While people are in debt, they are controllable. People are pushed to go to college because it's seen as the be all and end all of everything, often racking up tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt, before they even start their careers.
The notion of the American Dream was probably a good one, at one point. Unfortunately, it's turned into something else now, i.e. about money and being able to scoff at those below you and call them "losers", if you manage to make it to the summit.
For many, and possibly most Americans, their net wealth is negative. Market value of all assets and equity minus all debts.
The homeless beggar in Calcutta, who sleeps on a piece of cardboard, owns his cardboard, and has no debt. His net wealth is positive. Most Americans are poorer than he is. Except for the dream.
"Net worth" doesn't say much of anything. An american with a masters degree, a $150K a year job and 500K morgage obviously has a higher standard of living than a homeless beggar in Calcutta, despite the fact the American owes half a million dollars.
Debt isn't all bad, and the worth of a human being (in any country) should not be counted in dollars.
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