Gazillion Billionaires But No American Dream?

Letter to Ephesians: WSJ is amazed at how its recent “exclusive” poll found “Americans Lose Faith That Hard Work Leads to Economic Gains.” The pollsters again either got the Assumptions or Conclusions or both wrong. Truth is, many of today’s “victim obsessed” Americans may still “work hard” but forgot life’s disclaimer about “no guarantees.”

As would be expected from a business-oriented newspaper, a great one in my book at that, the above article focused on the current Trump Administration’s handling of the economy. It’s poll of how consumers feel about it, apparently translated into how the President “is contending with a disconnect between the nation’s sour outlook and traditional measures showing a robust economy.” Huh? Let’s concede the poll does reflect a “sour” attitude among the citizenry in the midst of what many economic experts would call a “robust economy.” And, let’s further concede the WSJ is right in concluding “America is becoming a nation of economic pessimists.”

Where the paper gets it wrong is that today’s Americans have been increasingly pessimists & obsessed with victimization to such an extent that it’s become the standard excuse folks make to explain to others & themselves why they have a crappy job, crappy income & even crappy hometown teams. Rather than call the “disconnect” for what it is, excuse-making gone off the rails, the article concluded “nearly 70% of people believe the American dream – that if you work hard, you will get ahead – no longer holds true OR NEVER DID, the highest level in nearly 15 years of surveys.” Right. The American dream never existed. Tell that to the “1,135 BILLIONAIRES & counting” the paper writes about in a separate piece.

Davd Soul