The capital-owning class spends its income at a lower rate than the working class; that reduces overall demand in the economy, causing low growth and less employment. Slow growth also suppresses public investment in schools and social programs, which create obstacles to social mobility" (Hiltzik). Unfortunately, social classes have become the backbone of American society. If an individual has a fairly low social status, the American Dream leads us to believe that we are able to rise from rags to riches and achieve economic stability. Yet in reality, social status is a permanent label that is difficult to manipulate and be able to move classes right away. For example, although people are able to become wealthy through hard work, their status is incomparable to those who were born into wealth. Therefore, an individual's social class is a direct reflection of how difficult it is to truly achieve the American dream. .
America was founded on the belief that the land of opportunity would allow anyone to turn his or her dreams into realty. America over the years has changed their definition of the American Dream from generation to generation. For example, an article in the Gale Students resources stated, "People during colonial America wrote about the new experience of equality. Americans discovered a shared dream in which citizens worked together to make life better for the American masses. The American Dream transformed into an ideal that relied on people being able to afford all the materialistic wants. Many Americans fueled their purchase of the new American Dream with credit cards, a choice that eventually affected the state of the American Dream" (How the American Dream Has Changed Over Time). As more people used their credit cards, they accumulated more debt, which later caused a recession over time. Many people had to reprioritize spending needs and wants because they could not afford as many things as before.
