Get What You Give

For a long time many have thought of America as a place of endless opportunity.   However ,for some this is not the case.   America also has many poor and needy people that do not have the life that one would expect for an American.   If one were to walk through a low income neighborhood in America it would seem that the American dream is dead.   However, is it completely by chance that these people ended up in this situation?   Or is it the fault of the capitalistic society where some must win and some must lose.   I believe that for the most part the American dream can still become a reality for many people who work hard their entire lives; but, like any rule there are exceptions.   Some of these exceptions are just poor luck, and some are brought about by bad decisions made earlier in life.
First of all America has a capitalist economy.   In order for a capitalist economy to function you must have some people who are rich and some who are poor.   The first tenet of the American dream states that “America is a promised land of beauty, unlimited resources, and endless opportunities.”   While there may be many jobs available, high paying jobs are not unlimited and the low paying grunt work will always need to be done by someone.   Grocery stores could not turn a profit if they paid every grocery clerk as much as a company CEO.   American companies must make money and no company can afford to pay top dollar for unskilled labor.   While it may seem cruel and harsh to think about, in order for some to be successful some must be unsuccessful.   One would expect the wealth distribution in this system to look a lot like a pyramid, with the vast majority of the population occupying the bottom end of the pyramid and the super rich being a small community the top.   However ,most of the people in the United States are in the middle class.   While there are still many poor, their numbers are much less than one would expect in an unchecked capitalistic society that doesn’t care about the...