The ‘American Dream’ Now Costs More Than $5.3 Million

An election is coming up in a month, so these ‘scientific’ articles are produced.  Pseudo-intellectuals will reference this article on social media.  Only a sad retard would question any part of it.

Do other countries have something equivalent to The American Dream?

“Nicolae, do you think you will ever achieve the Romanian dream?”

“Soon my friend.  My son spends his weekends renovating our vacation cave in the Carpathian mountains, and my daughter is studying to be a vampire.”

I doubt it.  Other countries have heritage, customs, ancient feuds, colorful traditional dress and cuisine.

Fine.  We have the American Dream.  The outfit issuing this report defines it as:

The American Dream is the belief that anyone can achieve success through hard work in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone

That sounds pretty good, but the report redefines The American Dream as Retirement, Healthcare, Owning a Home, Raising two children through college, Owning a new car, Yearly vacations, Pets and a Wedding.  That all costs $5.4 million, and you can’t afford it.

Assume the report’s numbers all add up because there seem to be legitimate sources.  Even if the details are all correct, the big picture is screwed up.  That’s what makes it ‘scientific’.

Retirement:  $1.2 million is needed for retirement.  Due to the magic of compound interest, putting away $400 per month, for 45 years, gets you there.  If you aren’t there, then work longer.

Healthcare:  $413,271.  It isn’t healthcare that’s so expensive, but health insurance and end-of-life care.  A man may pay a $1000 per month for health insurance, but get $1000 per year worth of healthcare.  That assumes some medical issue every five years or so.  The job pays for much of that, and over 65, when more medical issues arise, Medicare kicks in.

Owning a home:  $1,275,782.  Buying a house is not for everyone because it takes knowledge and effort and reduces mobility.  Apartments are appropriate for most single people, or a condo for a person who won’t relocate.  Location makes a difference.  Also, owning a home is an asset that can be sold to fund retirement.

Raising two children through college: $953,763.  I don’t have kids, but guess that adding a kid might add $1000 to my monthly expenses.  A second one wouldn’t cost quite as much.  So, raising two children who lack nothing, might get us to $400,000.  That leaves a quarter-million each for college.  All people should not go to college, and people who do, don’t need to go away to college for 4 years.  This also assumes the child is not working, so contributes nothing.

Owning a new car:  $1,205,627.  I was 40 years-old before buying a new car, and have had three.  I don’t drive much, so that’s probably it.  All in, with maintenance and fuel, I am at about 10% of that number.

Yearly vacation:  $186,999.  Are you kidding me?  Ending in 999 is how you know this is ‘scientific’ and based upon a legitimate criteria.  I’ve been to six continents, for less that $6,999.  Okay, most of that was business or family travel, but I’ve traveled extensively.  Averaging $2500 per year per person, is just not a plausible yearly vacation expectation.  That is a Disney vacation or cruise every year.  Normal people don’t do that.  They visit family or do go to the Outer Banks for a week.  Even that pace is not constant from birth to death.

Pets:  $40,772.  Again, WTF?  Cats are free, and even Sparky, a cordial gentleman, only cost me $50 at the orphanage.  Sparky saves me money on my water bill because I piss outside while he is taking a whiz. I spend maybe a thousand per year on Sparky.  That includes better-quality dog food, tick medicine and annual vet visits.  I am probably typical for dog owners.  Sparky is pampered, so some people spend less, but other people are crazy and spend much more.  This pet expense could only start when I had time for a dog in my retirement.  So at a maximum, 15 years of my life, and totally optional.

Wedding:  $38,800.  That sounds typical, but again, highly variable and optional.

This report is supposed to be a downer-cow meant to dispirit Americans.  According to the Census Bureau,

Traditional married-parent households with children account for about 18% of all total U.S. households.

At best, this applies to one-fifth of American households, and so many of the categories are highly variable.

A single paycheck won’t come close to covering it. A full-time worker with a bachelor’s degree earns a median of about $3.6 million from age 25 to 64,

Add 20 years of the average Social Security retirement benefit, $2,071 a month, and that worker reaches about $4.1 million, roughly $1.2 million short of the American Dream.

It is amazing that a single earner in a four-person household can get close to meeting the benchmarks of this highly speculative report.

Go back to their own definition of the American Dream.

The American Dream is the belief that anyone can achieve success through hard work in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone.

This doesn’t require having a dog and a new car.  ‘Hard work’ means succeeding on merit.  Upward mobility means doing better than your parents.  

This report is probably credible with regard to the numbers.  Their methodology is clearly addressed, but the overall premise is flawed.