The American Dream is DEAD.. Here's Why

My family emigrated to this great country of America in the 1970s. My dad had $70 in his wallet, a wife and kids in tow. He was very smart, educated as a CPA in the Philippines. He had a bold business plan with other like-minded men. They came to this country legally and with the American dream strong in their hearts.

It's now 2024, and regretfully, I feel the American dream is dead.

Now, why do I say this? Could it be because the prospects of homeownership have just about vanished for most people? Or maybe the freedoms we once enjoyed are slowly slipping away, or maybe we've lost the idea of securing a better future for our children. But before we dive in,

What is the American Dream?

Traditionally, the American dream meant that any person, regardless of their background, could succeed and build a better life for themselves and their family through hard work and determination.

In this blog post, I'll present my six key points as to why the American dream is no longer achievable for most.

For those who don't know me, I'm Noel Lorenzana. I'm a CPA by profession, and I can honestly say that my family and I have been blessed to have lived the American dream.

We came to this country legally as immigrants from the Philippines. My parents worked hard. They built a successful business, raised successful kids, and contributed to society. Overall, living happy and prosperous lives.

So is the American Dream still achievable?

Personally, I don't think so.

Let's explore why.

Reason #1. Home Ownership.

If you don't already own a home, sorry, but you're out of luck. Prices are sky-high and the mortgage rates are even higher.

I feel so bad for young people who want to start their lives and purchase their first home, but they're finding out that without financial help, maybe from their parents, it's virtually impossible.

Let's run some numbers.

Let's say you're in the Chicagoland area, maybe the suburbs, and you want to buy a home. We'll use a mortgage of $400,000, which is right now, I would say, average for a decent home in the suburbs. Let's use a 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 7%. Running this through a mortgage calculator, you're looking at a monthly mortgage payment of $2,660 per month.

Now, that doesn't even include real estate taxes, which might be another $10,000 per year, conservatively. So that's another $833 per month. Together, you're looking at a home payment of about $3,500.

Now, this doesn't include anything else like maintenance, utilities, insurance, whatever.

You see my point? An average decent home in the Chicago suburbs right now would cost you about $4,000 per month.

Ouch.

That's a lot of money. I'm very fortunate to have bought my home in 2009, and my monthly mortgage payment, including taxes, averages about $1,700 per month.

I couldn't imagine paying over $4,000 per month. I mean, honestly, right now, I don't think I could afford it.

Reason #2. An Economic Invasion.

Back in the '70s, if you were educated and had proper credentials, you were able to apply to come to the United States under what's called "legal immigration". It was a long process involving getting visas, green cards, petitioning, and interviews.

In other words, it was a lengthy process, but it worked.

Lots of people, like my parents, were able to immigrate here legally and contribute to society. They were productive, they created jobs, they paid their taxes.

That was back then, and that's how the system is supposed to work. Fast forward to today, we're facing an economic invasion that is unprecedented, in my opinion. We have hundreds of thousands of migrants from South America, the Middle East, and even China walking across our Southern borders unchecked.

Now, I'm all for legal immigration, don't get me wrong. But what's happening now is completely something else, and it's unsustainable.

I mean, you've seen the news, thousands of migrants flooding across the border, and now they're in every big city in America. Our government is throwing millions upon millions of dollars to house and care for these migrants.

Now, don't get me wrong,

I'm not saying they shouldn't be housed and cared for. What I am saying is, why is this border crisis allowed to go on and unchecked for so long?

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but it's clear that there's an organized effort to flood the United States with foreigners who have no business being here.

Now, I have to ask myself, "Why doesn't our government do anything to stop this?"

Since they're not doing anything to stop this migrant invasion, it tells me that it might just be part of a plan. And what plan is that? I don't know.

Have our key elected officials been bought and paid for? Are they out to destroy America Basically, this migrant invasion is an economic invasion that can wreck our society and fundamentally alter everyday life for the average American.

Reason #3. Failed Leadership.

I've already touched on this already, but have our elected leaders failed us?

I don't know.

Some would say they have, but think about it, shouldn't their priority right now to be to secure our Southern border?

I personally don't get into politics, but for me, this has got to be the number one issue. Our political leaders and parties are so fractured. I don't think they've ever been this divided that I can remember. In the past, parties were able to put their differences aside to protect national interests. I just don't see that happening anymore.

Is it still possible to have a functioning government?

Reason #4. Unsustainable Government Debt.

As I mentioned in my previous video titled, "Are We Headed for Another Great Depression?" Here's the link in case you haven't seen it. I highlighted that our government debt is a staggering $34 trillion.

It's the highest it's ever been. Every 100 days, another trillion dollars is added on top of that, and that's just the interest. Seriously, think about that for a minute.

How are we ever going to pay that back?

Our government has been spending money at an unsustainable rate, and history tells us there are only two ways out of this:

You can hyperinflate your way out of this, which uses tomorrow's devalued dollars to pay back yesterday's debt. Not sure if that exactly makes sense, but basically hyperinflation creates economic instability. Everything costs a lot more, and the value of the dollar and your savings erodes.

The other way to reduce the debt is to cut back on spending, raise taxes, and reduce programs like Welfare and Social Security. But taxes are already very high, and I don't think the American public would stand for cuts to services like Welfare and Social Security.

But I could be wrong.

Reason #5. Income Inequality.

What does this really mean? It means the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class, it's shrinking.

If you're on the other side, everything's great. Life is good, but if you're on the other side, you're screwed.

Income inequality means that money isn't spread out evenly among the people. Basically, some people make a lot more than others, and those others barely make enough to get by.

This inequality is growing because high-skilled jobs pay a lot more these days, and there aren't many well-paying jobs for people without fancy degrees.

Also, the way taxes and rules are set up nowadays, they tend to favor the rich.

Why does this matter? It matters because when only a few people have most of the money, everyone else struggles more. Less money gets spent overall, making it harder for everyday people to make a living. It also causes a lot of frustration and problems in our communities.

The disparity between the rich and the poor are usually seen in big cities and places with lots of tech jobs. But with layoffs in the tech sector, maybe it'll even out.

I don't know.

Reason #6. Freedom and Taxes.

I don't know about you, but it feels like day after day, our freedoms are being encroached upon little by little. Americans supposedly have the right to bear arms, but they sure make it difficult.

I like to ride electric devices around my neighborhood and on the forest-preserved bike trails, but they've recently banned those.

I mean, these are public trails that I support with my tax dollars, but I'm not free to travel on them with a quiet, clean electric device.

Some argue that the tightening of abortion laws significantly limits one's personal freedom of choice. I'm really not sure how I feel about that, but it definitely feels like a new restriction on our freedoms.

And then we have high taxes, real estate taxes, income taxes, sales taxes, payroll taxes. These are just a few of the many ways we're taxed on our hard-earned money.

These high taxes not only take a significant chunk out of our paychecks, but it also limits our financial freedom.

The more the government takes, the less we have to spend, save, or invest. This constant financial pressure can make it feel like we're working more for the government, than for our own future.

Conclusion: Why the American Dream is Dead

In conclusion, we've looked at several big problems that I see as to why the American dream isn't what it used to be. It's the same dream that brought my family here from the Philippines hoping for a better life.

Now, buying a home is damn near impossible for lots of people. There's a huge disaster on our Southern border, and it seems like the folks we voted for aren't looking out for us.

On top of that, our country is deep in debt, and the gap between the rich and the poor keeps getting wider. Let's not forget all the taxes we keep paying. It sure feels like the American dream my family chased might be gone for good.

But here's the thing.

Talking about these problems is the first step to fixing them. We've all got to get involved, keep our leaders in check, and ensure they hear us.

A radio host once said, "When our leaders fail to lead, it's time for the people to lead our leaders."

America has always been about bouncing back and fixing things. Let's keep that spirit alive and work together to bring the dream back for everyone.

Let me know what you think, feel free to leave your comments in my YouTube video.

Thanks for reading!