the American Dream is a beacon of hope: The idea that anyone, regardless of social class or where they were born, can prosper and succeed if they work hard enough.
Susan Wachter is a professor of real estate and finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and in an article published yesterday, she evaluated how the American Dream is faring as the U.S. turns 250 years old.
Prof. Wachter writes that "in the 20th century, the American Dream entailed a familiar sequence: finish school, find a job, get married, buy a home, raise a family … In the 21st century, affordability has taken a turn for the worse—far worse—in the years since 2022. Housing costs for new home buyers have more than doubled. Mortgage rates went from 3% to 6%, and housing prices rose by 40%.
“The result is the Great Postponement—not only of homeownership, but of other key life markers.”
According to a June study by Realtor.com, a record 25.2 million adults under 35 were still living with their parents in 2025—nearly one in three.
“The question is whether our housing policies can evolve quickly enough to ensure that achieving the American Dream depends once again on opportunity and hard work rather than circumstances of one’s birth.”
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And what led us here? Decades of tax breaks for the very wealthy.
Net result; they have most of the money, which they put into asset investments, driving up inflation, and making it very hard for people to get ahead.
Meanwhile, government is forced to either reduce services or tax the working and middle class. Standards of living go progressively down, down, down…
The only solution: Tax wealth, not work.
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Hard work is for beasts.
Smart work is for humans.
The Captain
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I’ll tell ya, once you understand how our very corrupt US tax system works, and the futility of wage & salary employment, life is sweet.
intercst
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They don’t teach “smart work” in school. You have to learn that on your own.
intercst
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Before the steam engine two and four legged beasts of burden were interchangeable. The steam engine freed the two legged beasts to use their brains instead of their brawn. Schools might catch on eventually once they concentrate on practical knowledge.
As a kid I wanted to be a mechanical engineer. In time I was admitted to MIT. Engineering didn’t flunk me, the mathematics of physics did. But I did pick up some good stuff, how to find stuff I needed to know and sailing.
Better yet, the best lesson was not in the classroom but in the dorm. At the desk they gave me the keys and said, “If you need anything we’re here to help” or words to that effect. All was fine but the glass of the mailbox had fallen off the door so I went to the front desk asking for help. The reply,
“Use your MIT ingenuity!” which threw me totally off guard.
“You are not going to fix it?”
“No, use your MIT ingenuity!”
“Use my MIT ingenuity?”
“Yes, use your MIT ingenuity!” which left me scratching my head.
With nothing better to do, I had a look at the broken mailbox and noticed that the glass was still there. Next I noticed that it needed a couple of retaining clips to hold it in place. Back to the front desk, “Could you please give me two paper clips?” Very kindly they did, I made retaining clips and my MIT ingenuity solved the problem. This lesson alone was worth the tuition but it was not taught in the classroom.
The Captain
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