Monday, May 21, 2012

THE DECAY OF THE AMERICAN DREAM


I EXPECT TUITION, A JOB, A HOUSE, AND RETIREMENT
As most of you know I keep a running list of stories that I want to post and then as I have time I will work on them and post them when complete.  Some stories take so long to get back to they become dated and I simply trash them.  I was about to discard this one when I took a few moments to rewatch it and I was simply stunned by how easily our American values have been sapped from us and how it has only taken one or two generations for us to become convinced that independence and personal responsibility are not core tenets of American society.

In the following 5 minutes clip we see an interview on Fox News with a Valencia College professor Jack Chambless.  Professor Chambless describes an exercise he has students complete in the beginning of the year where they write an essay explaining what the American dream is to them and also what the role of the federal government should be in their lives.  Unfortunately, the results of the assignment highlight the extent our attitudes have been warped and how quickly we have created a citizen base that expects care from an external entity for life.  Is it any wonder that the Obama campaign created the internet campaign video on the Life of Julia where the government provided assistance in every stage of her life?  This wasn't some odd mix up or some ill-conceived campaign idea, they were creating a video that targeted the very beliefs that many young people expect and want!  Conservatives better not brush this off as some stupid liberal foul up, this was an intentional advertisement highlighting the things that liberals identify as a goal and now many young people believe are important!!!





THE WAR IS COMPLETE WITHOUT FIRING A SHOT
While a small percentage of students simply wanted the government to leave them alone (10%), a staggering 80% see the government as a mechanism to provide them a college education, a home, employment, and retirement.  As I see results like this I am simply aghast and am reminded of writings by J.R. Nyquist that suggested that Russian Communists had planned and schemed throughout the last 40 years to infiltrate our college professor ranks to wage an ideological war from within the US.  If this idea of a long term war of ideas driven by intellectuals is in fact true, we can see that their efforts must have been more successful than their wildest expectations as they have destroyed the very basic principles of capitalism in that there is no expectation of success AND failure along with reward AND risk.  In corporate banking and finance we have nationalization and at a personal level we have the social nanny state.

I will concede that college aged students are typically more liberal and frankly inexperienced in real life but this shocking interview reveals that our youth expect "someone" to care for them and that they have a right to anticipate that some benevolent force will pay for the things they need or want in life.  Unfortunately, I don't think that these kids realize that often just like in trading, when you minimize your downside (some government provides everything for you) you often limit your upside as well.  Second, I'm sure they haven't thought that they too could be the source of government redistribution as everyone is willing for the government to take and take and take as long as they are the beneficiary.  When you are the target of the asset confiscation, suddenly we all become proponents of a free market system!


GOATMUG

Goatmug is an investor that cares about you and your family. Goatmug's Blog - Financial Perspectives From The Mountain Top is a collection of thoughts on our economy and how it impacts the lives of investors and average people. While several specific investments are named in many of his posts, these articles are simply invitations for you to do your own research and reference to these securities does not constitute financial advice. Your situation is complex and unique and you should seek professional assistance with your trading and investing. Please visit Goatmug and share your comments at http://www.goatmug.blogspot.com/