As the speakers at the Republican Convention talk about the American Dream (link, link, link, link, link, link), I couldn't help but note how they are destroying something they all see to agree about. Sure they all give lip service to the American Dream. But their policies, despite their earnest denials, are killing the American Dream.
What is the American Dream? The belief that anyone can rise from humble beginnings and become whatever they want to be. Susana Martinez expressed it well:
Growing up, I never imagined a girl from a border town could one day become a governor.
But this is America
Y, en America todo es posible.
My parents taught me to never give up and to always believe that my future could be whatever I dreamt it to be.
But in recent decades, it has become harder and harder to rise from those humble beginnings. Since 1980, we have been in a long downward slide toward this, with the richest among us gobbling up more and more of the growth that used to go to those that started from more humble circumstances (
source):
In the real world, discussion of these realities is known by many names, like "the truth." In the GOP convention world, it is called "the politics of resentment." And Martinez is no exception to this. Right after talking about courage hardwork and responsibility, she went straight to the resentment BS:
Success, they taught me, is built on the foundation of courage, hard-work and individual responsibility.
Despite what some would have us believe, success is not built on resentment and fears.
In GOP terms, if you dare to point out that rich people are gobbling up all the growth, you are merely jealous.
Out here in the real world, we still have the belief that it should be possible to become whatever you want to be. And we believe in courage, hard-work and individual responsibility, just like Susana Martinez. Consider this from a speech by President Obama:
Now, four years ago, we came together because we wanted to reclaim the basic bargain that had built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth. We shared a belief that in America, your circumstances shouldn't be determined -- or your success shouldn't be determined by the circumstances of your birth, right? (Applause.) And you can see that in Redwood City -- people from every background, from every corner not just of the country but of the world.
This represents that idea that if you're willing to work hard, you should be able to create a life for yourself and your family, find a good job. If you're willing to meet your responsibilities, you should be able to own a home and maybe start a business, strike out with a new idea, send your kids to a good school -- give them a chance to do even better than you, no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like, no matter who you love.
The implication in Republican speeches, like that of Martinez, is that if you aren't getting ahead it is because you
don't believe in courage, hard-work and individual responsibility. And that is where you begin to realize the mendacity. In the GOP world, those who have are superior to those who do not have. And those who do not have are
weak, lazy and irresponsible.
So, if it is not, as Republicans believe, the weakness, laziness and irresponsibility that cause some to fail to achieve the American Dream, what is it? Well for one thing, under Democratic Presidents, those at the bottom (the 20th percentile in this case) have more jobs available and enjoy more general economic growth (Bartels pdf):
those at the 20th percentile have experienced more than four times as much income growth under Democrats as they have under Republicans. These differences are attributable to partisan differences in unemployment (which has been 30 percent lower under Democratic presidents, on average) and GDP growth (which has been 30 percent higher under Democratic presidents, on average); both unemployment and GDP growth have much stronger effects on income growth at the bottom of the income distribution than at the top.
So does this mean that sometimes (typically when a Democrat is President) those at the bottom do better because there are more jobs? Yes it does. Isn't working at a job the opposite of laziness? Um, yes it is. So are Republicans wrong to say that people are not getting ahead because they are lazy, or weak, or irresponsible? Um, yes they are. Are some people not getting ahead because they are lazy, or weak, or irresponsible? Of course that is true. But not for everybody.
It is worth noting here that both Romney and Ryan would lower taxes on the rich and raise them on the middle class. And Ryan's plan would cost us 5 milliion jobs. So the middle class will fall further behind under them, as it has for other Republican leaders.
When Democrats talk about this, Republicans call it "politics of resentment." When they try and sell their BS about how they got ahead while others have failed we should call them on it. And this is also the root of the claims that President Obama has removed the work requirements from welfare. Republicans want to paint Democrats as willing to give money to lazy people. This is clearly part of their effort to win over working class whites. (link) But, working class whites, as well as all other working class people, do better when there is Democrat in the White House, mainly because Republicans tend to give money to the rich and corporations and Democrats tend to focus more on the middle class. More on that here.
And in addition to calling Republicans on this BS, we should point out that many of them needed help at some point and got help from the government. Consider this snippet from Paul Ryan's life, remembering, as you read this, that Ryan prominently features discussion of a culture of dependency in his budget rhetoric:
One day as a 16 year old, Ryan came upon the lifeless body of his father. Paul Ryan, Sr. had died of a heart attack at age 55, leaving the Janesville Craig High School 10th grader, his three older brothers and sisters and his mother alone. It was Paul who told the family of his father’s death.
With his father’s passing, young Paul collected Social Security benefits until age 18, which he put away for college. To make ends meet, Paul’s mother returned to school to study interior design. His siblings were off at college. Ryan remembers this difficult time bringing him and his mother closer.
Within months, Paul’s maternal grandmother moved into the house. She suffered from Alzheimer’s, and it often fell on young Paul to care for her, including brushing and braiding her hair. Ryan credits his father’s death and the care of his grandmother as giving him first-hand experience as to how social service programs work.
Yes, as noted among places like the
New York Times, the young Paul Ryan worked. But he also got free money for college. as
Charles Pierce noted:
after his father passed, and while working the fry station and toting canoes at a YMCA summer camp, Ryan was also the beneficiary of Social Security survivor's benefits? These did precisely what they were designed to do, which was to help young Paul Ryan get the education that would help him become the adult Paul Ryan who's been on one government payroll or another since he left college, and who goes around telling half-dim audiences that people on government assistance are mired in a "culture of dependency."
It is also worth noting that Ryan would cut
social security benefits. And what about people like Ryan's grandmother, who moved in with them? Under Ryan's cuts to
Medicare and
Medicaid, people like her would be left helpless.
Another important aspect of achieving the American Dream is education. Here is what Condoleeza Rice said in her speech:
We have been successful too because Americans have known that one’s status at birth was not a permanent station in life. You might not be able to control your circumstances but you could control your response to your circumstances. And your greatest ally in doing so was a quality education.
Let me ask you, though, today, when I can look at your zip code and can tell whether you are going to get a good education – can I really say that it doesn’t matter where you came from – it matters where you are going. The crisis in K-12 education is a grave threat to who we are.
My mom was a teacher – I have the greatest respect for the profession – we need great teachers – not poor or mediocre ones. We need to have high standards for our students – self-esteem comes from achievement not from lax standards and false praise. And we need to give parents greater choice – particularly poor parents whose kids – most often minorities — are trapped in failing neighborhood schools. This is the civil rights struggle of our day.
If we do anything less, we will condemn generations to joblessness, hopelessness and dependence on the government dole. To do anything less is to endanger our global economic competitiveness. To do anything less is to tear apart the fabric of who we are and cement a turn toward grievance and entitlement.
Rice was right about the importance of a quality education. Let's look at a few things that prove she is right. First, a college degree is much better than a high school diploma if you want a job (
link):
For young high school graduates, the unemployment rate was 32.7 percent in 2010 and 31.1 percent over the last year (April 2011–March 2012), while the underemployment rate was 55.9 percent in 2010 and 54.0 percent over the last year.
For young college graduates, the unemployment rate was 10.4 percent in 2010 and 9.4 percent over the last year, while the underemployment rate was 19.8 percent in 2010 and 19.1 percent over the last year.
And higher degrees also make more money and have lower unemployment rates (link):
Rice's suggested solution to the problem was "we need to give parents greater choice." She failed to mention that the Ryan Plan would cut 1,000,000 Pell Grants. And this is just one cut she forgot to mention. There is much more. Under Republicans, students will have less money to pay for college and fewer educational choices.
And this is just a start. More on how Republicans are killing the American Dream here. Simply put, under Democrats, those wanting to improve themselves can have the audacity to hope and more ways to make that hope a reality through dedication and hard work. Under Republicans, you get policies that belie the American Dream.
6:26 PM PT: Thanks for the rescue!