Monique Williams
English 1A
20 December 2013
Deterrents To Financial Success In America
Money affects everyone in America. Financial success is a dream often desired and money is needed to fulfill that dream. Today many things prevent that dream from occurring. A decrease in the amount of jobs has led to people entering into poverty. The income of the working class hasn’t increased over the years which has led to harder economic times. These factors also affect the average person’s ability to afford a home. With all of these things going on, it is almost impossible for the average American to make money that they can hold on to. Tavis Smiley and Cornel West’s book The Rich And The Rest Of US support the claim that these factors are a big reason why Americans are being held down financially. Loss of jobs, a stagnant income, and the pressure of buying a house with these situations going on have kept people from being able to be financially successful.
The average American’s income has not risen, making it harder for them to live. The “average American” is one who works and fits in the middle and lower class. Their job salaries have remained stagnant. If income does not rise but the cost of living does, people will remain in poverty. “Over the past 40 years, household incomes have remained stagnant for all but the top 5 percent of Americans” (Smiley, West 65). Because incomes normally come from a salary of some sort, stagnant household incomes are most likely caused by a lack in the rise of the homeowner’s salary. The average job hasn’t increased in pay to match the rise of prices in the U.S. One cannot expect to make money with the same salary when the average cost of living goes up. This is a huge reason why people are struggling to get by. Jobs today aren’t paying enough for the average American to get out of debt. While a job today isn’t necessarily enough to live comfortably, it is better than having no job at all. This itself has become a problem, with jobs becoming harder than ever to find.
Not enough jobs are being created to lower the unemployment rate in today’s economy. Most people are not able to support themselves fully with a job, so not having a job at all makes it even more difficult to survive. Even if things got better, unemployment rates may still be high. “Job growth has stalled so badly that several economists predict that, even if the economy rebounds, unemployment levels by the end of 2013 may return only to 2007 levels- around 4.6 percent, or almost 14 million people” (Smiley, West 66). Unemployment definitely keeps people down because they have to rely on others for support. This may lead them to borrow from others, putting them further in debt. Meanwhile, if they already have loans, they will be unable to pay them off. In that time, interest will accumulate from those loans, making their debt bigger than before. Jobs are necessary for people to keep their heads above water, even if they aren’t able to live luxuriously. Without jobs and with the cost of living getting more and more expensive, people who are unemployed are forced to stay down financially. These situations get even worse when people are forced to give up their homes, making them homeless.
Lack of jobs and a higher cost of living forces people to foreclose their homes. This further puts their financial status in jeopardy, since they no longer have a place to stay. “Foreclosures were filed against 2.9 American homeowners in 2010, and the numbers grew in 2011” (Smiley, West 46). A rise in foreclosures have led to an increase in homelessness. “According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, homeless families increased 28 percent, from 131,000 in 2007 to 168,000 in 2010” (Smiley, West 46). Not having a home to live in keeps a person from being able to perform daily tasks. They can no longer shower, eat, sleep, and perform many other habits necessary for survival in once place. They must stagger around from place to place to perform these tasks. One cannot expect to be able to work under these conditions, since they must work to survive. Being homeless further puts them in poverty and as mentioned before, any debts they owe are growing bigger. Since homeless people literally have nothing, they cannot get out of their financial obligations due to owing so much money while simultaneously not making any money.
In conclusion, an increase in the cost of living, lack of jobs in the economy, and the foreclosures of homes keep the average American from having financial success. A rise in the prices of items in the U.S. has made it more difficult for people to afford things. High unemployment rates have caused people to rely on others for money. This essentially accumulates more debt due to interest on loans. With people not working an owing money, foreclosures have become more problematic. With people being homeless, they are further put down and deeper in poverty. If jobs continue to be scarce and the cost of living continues to rise, people will further enter poverty and will not be able to achieve financial success. If things change, however, people may once again have a chance at soaring in the Land of Opportunity.
Works Cited
Smiley, Tavis, and Cornel West. The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto. New York: Smiley, 2012. Print.