It’s getting harder to succeed in US

Vernos Branco, Las Vegas

Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013 | 2:01 a.m.

Opportunity is the engine driving the American dream and has always had Americans, arms outstretched, reaching for a future. Since the origination of this great democratic republic, every generation has had the opportunity to do better than its parents and grandparents. That dream has come to a halt. It is harder to gain higher education because of exaggerated costs; it is harder to find gainful employment, and the cost of living is higher by leaps and bounds.

There is a whole generation of young people, about 29 years old, who work 40 hours a week attempting to take care of their families but earning just $18,000 annually. They ride public transportation because they can’t afford a vehicle and gasoline; they often use the emergency room as their primary care because they can’t afford health insurance; they have poor education because they can’t afford college. Unlike previous generations, this generation is forced to apply for food stamps and housing subsidies on a far larger scale because the wealth of this great nation has been tilted in favor of corporations and the rich.

Opportunity has been stripped from people’s lives, and moving up the scale of financial and social parity is almost impossible, skewed by a system that favors only those with the greatest wealth.