The End of the American Empire: Rotting From Within and Without

Americans always were told that they lived in the greatest country on Earth, a model egalitarian society. But a report by The Pew Charitable Trusts sheds light on the fallacy of the so-called American Dream. According to the report, America is less upwardly-mobile than Canada, Denmark or Finland. In the land of opportunity, your birth, more than in other countries, determines how you will end up. The wealthiest among us are likely to remain wealthy, and the poorest are also likely to remain poor. While only one-third can be considered upwardly mobile, the rest are either treading water or falling behind. And one-third of Americans are downwardly mobile, earning less than their parents and slipping down the income ladder.

And as the Children’s Defense Fund recently reported, prison is the only universally guaranteed program for youth, as the U.S. prepares its poor children, disproportionately Black and Brown boys, for a life behind bars. With a cut-rate education system, few opportunities and an environment of violence and deprivation, many children are programmed for a cradle to prison pipeline. One child in six lives in poverty, and over 9.4 million children are without health insurance. One-third of Latino babies and one-half of Black babies are born into poverty, and one-quarter of Latino children and one-third of Black children are poor. With $100 billion spent on the Iraq War each year, a total of $450 billion so far, a mere $75 billion a year would eradicate poverty in America. Repealing the tax cuts for the richest one percent would provide $57 billion. But do we have the will, in a nation that refuses to do anything unless someone makes a profit from it?