Is This the End of the American Dream?

Published in Estadao
(Brazil) on 30 July 2010
by Marcos Guterman (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Diana Coada. Edited by Piotr Bielinski.
The Financial Times published an extensive article in which the so-called American dream, the possibility of starting out with nothing and reaching financial fulfillment in the U.S., was referred to as “America's Fitful Reverie.”

The newspaper's portrayal of the American middle class — one that provided the country with the deepest beliefs in its potential — is devastating. Instead of saving for a comfortable retirement and providing for their children, American families are struggling to pay the bills at the end of the month.

“If we lost our jobs, we would have about three weeks of savings to draw on before we hit the bone,” says Mark Freeman, a quote the newspaper provides as an example of the current situation. “We work day and night and try to save for our retirement. But we are never more than a paycheck or two from the streets.”

Mark and Connie Freeman earn decent salaries. They bring in $70,000 a year, a joint gross income that is more than a third higher than the median U.S. household. But this doesn’t help their situation and that of millions of other couples in the country. The image of the vibrant, carefree middle class portrayed in American TV shows “might approximate how some in the top 10 percent of the population live. The rest live like the Freemans. Or worse,” writes the newspaper.

It states that the average income of the majority of Americans has risen by only 10 percent over the past 37 years. Over the same period, the incomes of the richest top 1 percent in the country have tripled. Chief executives were on average paid 26 times the median income. Now the multiple is above 300.

With a middle class stripped of economic mobility, it is hard to imagine that the U.S. will be able to come out of stagnation anytime soon. Michael Spence, the recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics, thinks that this scenario has brought America into a deep identity crisis: “To be pessimistic about the future is so new for Americans,” says Spence.



O fim do ''sonho americano''?

O Financial Times publicou extensa reportagem em que o chamado “sonho americano”, isto é, a possibilidade de sair do nada e se realizar financeiramente nos EUA, passou a ser chamado de “devaneio errático americano”.
O retrato que o jornal faz da classe média dos EUA, aquela que forneceu o oxigênio das crenças mais profundas no potencial do país, é devastador. Em vez de economizar para projetos de uma aposentadoria confortável e para permitir conquistas materiais para os filhos, as famílias americanas lutam no limite tênue do pagamento das contas no fim do mês.
“Se perdermos nosso emprego, teremos apenas três semanas de economias antes de chegarmos ao osso”, conta Mark Freeman, mostrado pelo FT como exemplo da situação. “Trabalhamos dia e noite para economizar para nossa aposentadoria, mas não estamos a mais do que dois contracheques da rua.”
Mark e Connie Freeman não ganham mal. Fazem US$ 70 mil por ano, um terço acima da média. Isso não alivia a situação deles e de milhões de outros casais no país – a imagem da vibrante e descolada classe média retratada nas séries de TV americanas representa menos de 10% da população. “O resto vive como os Freeman, ou pior”, diz o jornal.
O FT conta que a renda média da maioria absoluta dos americanos cresceu apenas 10% nos últimos 37 anos, enquanto o 1% mais rico no país viu sua renda triplicar no mesmo período. Altos executivos ganhavam 26 vezes a média salarial do país; hoje, são 300 vezes.
Com uma classe média sem mobilidade econômica, é difícil imaginar que os EUA consigam sair tão cedo da estagnação. Michael Spence, Prêmio Nobel de Economia de 2001, considera que esse cenário levou os EUA a uma profunda crise de identidade: “Ser pessimista sobre o futuro é algo muito novo para os americanos”.
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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