American Dream Lost - POV From a Small Business Owner

When I graduated college it wasn't supposed to be like this. We were supposed to be the affluent generation that had everything, the American Dream - jobs, lifestyle, family, home, two cars in the garage, and finally a great retirement and a worry-free ending. At least that's what we believed and were led to believe. Somewhere along the line it all fell apart.

I grew up in a rural community that was about 95% Catholic; the rest being Protestant. I was part of that minority, but you know something? Never, not even once, did religion ever come into play in my formative years. I dated Catholics and married one. It just wasn't an issue. We got along, very well as a matter of fact. It didn't matter if you had money or not, we took care of each other and $2.00 on a Friday night out was plenty, but then...

I believe it all started with television. The great silver-tongued devil that started with Captain Kangaroo, Sky King, Sgt. Preston of the Yukon, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Walt Disney, Ozzy and Harriet, the Ed Sullivan Show and so many more. Slowly, television turned from family values and life lessons to profanity, violence, and apathy. Now we follow dysfunctional families and cutthroat opportunist wannabees. Movies followed suit. Along the way, people just didn't get together anymore. Gone were the Saturday night church dances, the hay rides, the community ice-skating pond, the old swimming hole and Sunday afternoon town baseball teams. Instead, we sat with open mouth as Red Skelton gave way to the risque Smothers Brothers and then Saturday Night Live. We discovered we could fill our open mouths with popcorn and soda and gained 50 pounds.

Records turned from unrequited love and heartbreak to gibberish, profanity, and hate-mongering. Remember the Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, Eddy Arnold, the Four Seasons? The Tops, Loretta Lynn, Buddy Holly, the Beatles and Nat King Cole? Compare them to what we have today.

Pong and Pac-Man turned to Grand Theft Auto and Doom. Video games went from cute to death and destruction seemingly overnight.

Beer drinking turned to pot, cocaine, and then heroin and worse. We overindulged and over-medicated ourselves to keep pace.

Our psyche has changed too and not for the better. Friday night high school basketball games were the highlight of the winter week. Parents from both sides cheered good plays and sportsmanship. Today, fights break out and there is always that handful that become hateful in their catcalls berating the referees, the coach, and even the young players trying their best. I think we all became a little too stressed and it came out during competition, unfortunately it was our kids that were learning what their parents were really like.

I see it in my own children and those of others. I hear it from my generation. Kids today just don't want to work. They expect $25 an hour jobs with little or no training and responsibility and guess who will give it to them? The government. Who else will pay $50,000 per year starting for a state trooper, prison guard, teacher, homeland security officer, or even a meter reader recently hired in my home town to read five numbers on a dial for $20/hour with all the bennys. The NOW generation has become the ENTITLED generation. Actually, I think that's great to a certain degree. I'm glad for these young people to get a grand start in their lives with life-long security. But I ask myself, who is paying for this? Where is the money coming from and why is it that I'm not seeing any of this largess?

Then I reflect on my life and those of my friends who elected not to become part of the "system". We wanted to live the American dream. Owning our own business or working for private enterprise in a field of our choosing, making a real contribution to society. It started out fine. Through hard work and time, we persevered and became successful. Then something happened along the way. Increased fees, licenses, insurances, union demands, government mandates and more competition came into our lives. Manufacturing went overseas. Box stores appeared. Slowly but surely, year after year, one thing after another. We increased revenue but our bottom line was less. All of these items mentioned above came into being to pay for government and large corporate excess. A new car went from $3000 to $30,000. A gallon of gas from $.30 to $3.00. College tuition from $2500 to $25,000 and then $50,000. The only thing that didn't go up ten times was my income. It remained stagnant.

I can't ever remember anyone calling President Eisenhower anything but "Ike" or President Eisenhower or Mr. President. There was respect then. Government became out of tune and out of step with the people. We allowed it to happen. Government became unto itself, for itself, and of itself. It was no longer responsive to the citizenry. It became uncaring, unfeeling, and patronizing. Oh, it gave back all right, to the unworthy who refused to contribute on the one end and to a much larger degree to the lobbyists and the large corporations they represented on the other end. The great Middle Class was starting to disappear.... the haves gained more and more, the have nots, less and less. Government expanded as did the salaries and benefit packages of its employees all paid for on the backs of the American small businessman. The Department of Energy is a fine example: 60,000 federal employees, 100,000 contract employees, annual budget of over $24,000,000,000, created in 1977 to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. That's sure been a success hasn't it? And now the government is taking over the auto, banking and finance, and health care industries?

I was one of the first to go. My 16 year old construction company was defrauded by our local government out of a rightful contract by unscrupulous arbitrators paid off by the government. Next, came a life long friend and his potato farm, ruined by Canadian government dumping of potatoes on the American public while our government stood by and allowed it to happen. We all know the plight of the American farmer. The big box stores selling their made-in-China goods put an end to the rest of the small town and city retailers. It's gotten worse. The business friends I have now still in business are struggling. No one has any excess money. It's all taken by health insurance, taxes, fees, salaries, mandates, and more insurance.

Everyone is after what little I have left. I'm inundated with emails, snail mail, telephone solicitations, and now creditors all trying to bleed me dry. For the most part they have succeeded. I pay 30% on my unpaid credit card balances. They're offering me 50% off of the balance owed if I pay them in full now. I laugh and say if I had the money to pay it off I wouldn't be in this pickle in the first place and besides what with the usurious interest charges I have been paying, I already have paid off the original balance six times over. Even if I had a decent income, I'll never own my own home in my lifetime. Banks have seen to that. You pay and pay year after year and you still own only 10% of your home after 15 years of payments. It's not right. It's not fair.

We have regressed to the Middle Ages. The King is in his castle safe and sound with his entourage except now it is our government officials, pro athletes, the Hollywood set, and recording artists that are our royalty. The inner keep of the castle is lined with the merchants to the royalty - Big Oil, Big Industry, and Big Finance that cater to the royals. Us small potatoes merchants and our employees are left outside the gates working 60 hour weeks for kitty litter tossed over the walls, all the time being told "how good we have it" and "hang in there, it will get better".

I'm glad for my teacher friends and prison guard buddies. They're retiring now to a good life, mortgage paid, car paid, kids gone, winter in Florida, life is good. Dummy me went to college, served in the military, went to Viet Nam, served in the Reserves, started my own business, employed 16 people, and served in numerous community organizations. For what? To being defrauded out of my livelihood by my government? To being taxed to death? To losing my home 'cause I can't afford it any more?

I'm tired. Tired of sacrificing for others - where's my dream gone?