The American Dream

The American Dream was a concept I was taught as a child. I was told that America was the land of opportunities where anyone could pull themselves up by the boot straps and obtain the All American Lifestyle - great job, new car, marriage, a house and of course 2.5 perfect children. Well I am sorry to tell those of you who have not realized it yet, but the American Dream..... IT IS DEAD.

Currently the National Unemployment Statistic for June states that 7.6 percent of the population in our country is unemployed. 36.7 percent of those counted in that 7.6 percent have been looking for a job for more then 27 weeks. That is an average of 6 months of unemployment. Of course these numbers are only referring to people who are currently searching for employment and are getting state benefits. The Real number of unemployed, which includes those who have exhausted their search and who have had to settle for part time odd jobs, is 14.3 percent, and in June that number when up another 0.5 percent. That number does not count those who have exhausted their unemployment benefits and those who have given up the search for employment entirely.  Because of the method used to calculate unemployment today, when someone's benefits run out, the unemployment rate actually goes down. The Labor Force Participation Rate for our country in June was 63.5 percent, which is all eligible citizens of working age who are working or looking for work. I am sorry but in school a 63.5 is a D- and I feel that is a suitable grade to give our current Administration.

Unemployment is one of the leading causes of the destruction of our nation. If we cannot work, we cannot pay our bills. Therefore no new cars, no house payments, no food, no consumer products and the list goes on and on. No chance of obtaining that pretty American Dream.

Am I one of these people? Absolutely - but I am not counted in that statistic since I am not receiving any unemployment benefits. I am one of the lucky few who is married to someone with a job and we just moved to a place where we can actually afford to live on one persons salary, which is crazy I know. However that does not make me immune to the hardships of finding employment.

I was the first person in my family to graduate from college. I was told my whole life to "get an education and you will go far." I not only received my Bachelor's Degree but I went on to obtain my Master's Degree as well. At the time I was thinking these student loans were a Godsend, and with my fancy education I could go on to get my fancy job to pay them off. Well obviously that has not happened. So I am sitting here with a mountain of growing educational debt and an education that is doing absolutely nothing for me. I apply for jobs and they tell me I have too little actual work experience or I have a Master's Degree and am over qualified. Could I have selected a more important degree? Sure, but currently I do not think it matters what experience you have.  Who you know is more important. The opportunities are so few and far between it's ridiculous - we have middle age Americans working at McDonalds and Wal-Mart so they can make ends meet. Currently 284,000 college graduates, including 37,000 Advanced Degree Graduates, have had to take a minimum wage job in order to pay their bills. What the hell has happened to our county?

Well as I sit here and vent my frustrations for all of you to read, I have decided I am not just going to be sitting around here hoping someone will throw me some scraps. On top of continuing my employment search I am going to be researching all that I can on how I can change these policies that are taking jobs out of America and creating strain on employers, who then in turn are not hiring more staff. While I am at it I will find out who I can be talking to about my concerns for our country. I strongly believe everyone who is currently unemployed should be doing the same thing. If I cannot find employment then I will be damn sure to make our politicians work for theirs!!!