The American dream of economic success and wealth accumulation continues to slip away from the tired hands of most Americans because of low wages, unchecked poverty, and the sexist gender wage gap. Instead of allowing everyone to participate in and gain from the growing global economy, the state has failed to address wage and poverty issues that bog down so many Americans to the point that they feel hopeless in their pursuit of comfort. Proposals of policies on equal pay, universal basic income, and a living minimum wage could bridge the gap to the American dream, but a commitment to ending poverty and the inequality in economic opportunities is one the United States seems tentative to make.
In Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickled and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, the author explores the “living wage” in American states by attempting to live comfortably while working minimum-wage jobs across the country. She learns that in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, the living wage was calculated to be $11.77 per hour; yet, Wal-Mart, a huge employer in the area, paid only $7.00 per hour. She found that even those that held two jobs had an incredibly difficult time keeping their families afloat. The United States’ lack of commitment to ending this unfair practice of keeping minimum wages that do not correspond to a living wage is shown in its continued support for big companies that do not pay their workers well.
Given the fact that wages are stagnant and have left the majority of American laborers with lower hourly earnings than they had in May 2017, policymakers must address the suffering of low wage workers. Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) proposal would require large employers to fully cover the cost of food stamps, public housing, Medicaid, and other federal assistance for their employees; this measure could help mitigate income inequality. Big businesses will either begin paying their workers a living wage so that they will not need federal assistance or carry the burden of paying for many workers’ government assistance. When there are huge companies reaping billions of dollars per year while employing poor workers who remain poor on their wages, the injustice and inequality should become a glaringly obvious target for the government.
The constant pressure of poverty has kept poor Americans from comfortably and confidently planning for their future. Instead of having room in their minds and lives to think about rising out of their difficult situations, they are left constantly struggling to survive. A possible policy that could relieve this pressure is universal basic income or guaranteed income. Giving even $1,000 to a poor family could allow them enough financial breathing room to tend to normal, everyday expenses like fixing a car transmission or buying over-the-counter medications. Though it seems far-fetched to give citizens money for “nothing,” there is already a similar initiative in place in Alaska: the Alaska Permanent Fund. Research from the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania found that the extra money has not caused a decline in employment. Instead, the extra income allowed people to buy more for their families, which increased the demand for service jobs and pumped more money back into the local economy. It is unreasonable to expect families that are struggling to survive to ever reach the American dream of economic security when they are unable to deal with minor inconveniences without incurring severe detrimental impacts on their little savings. Having cash that they can use for whatever their family needs or wants gives poor Americans their autonomy back in a country that seems to trap them into difficult situations.
When half of the country’s population is left out, we can never achieve a full and robust economy in which citizens feel they have room to make good financial choices. Women must be included in conversations of inequality, opportunity, and economic prosperity if the United States wants to uphold the notion of the American dream. Currently, women are nearly two-thirds of minimum-wage workers in the country and they make less than their male counterparts. How can women reach the American dream when their work is not only underpaid, but also consistently seen as inferior to men’s? Though this issue has been addressed by the Equal Pay Act of 1963, there are still loopholes in the act that allow for the gender gap to continue. A more comprehensive act like the Paycheck Fairness Act could close these loopholes by prohibiting retaliation against workers who inquire about wage practices, strengthening penalties for violations, and requiring employers to explain wage differentials. Instead of allowing sexism to follow women to the workplace, the United States government can create laws that protect women from gender gaps while they are working for the betterment of not only their families, but the American economy overall.
The American dream is illusory for many because the United States government has accepted the existence of poverty as a given instead of attacking it on all sides in order to create a fairer, more well-functioning society. Fortunately, there are a number of proposed policies and ideas that can mitigate this inequality and target its roots. If the American people and government can be willing to hear these proposals for a fairer country, we can inch closer to a more concrete and attainable American dream.