Solution+Action+MLK+jr

What is the "American dream", and is it realistic? That is the question on most American's minds as the recession forces them to cut back spending in all kinds of ways. Our group feels like the American dream is realistic. However, the recession definitely hindered millions of people from obtaining their goals in life. Although the recession was "officially over" as of June 2009, it was the worst since the great depression and the effects are still lingering. Even in affluent neighborhoods, its hurting many families. Although it may seem shallow, money is the key to material happiness in this world, and material possessions are very popular in American culture. To live the American dream, which is basically the widespread aspiration of Americans to live better than their parents did (Wordnet, Princeton), is very hard to do. An example of the American dream could be buying your own house or your own car. Unfortunately, with the recession it is somewhat hard to get $500,000 dollars for a home and keep up with payments.

When our group set out to prove that the "American Dream" was harder to obtain because of the recession, we had no idea how far it reached. We found some shocking evidence that the recession affected all types of people, regardless of race and wealthiness. First of all, we did a survey with questions regarding if one's family is more stressed, had to cut back on spending, etc. The results, overall, were that a majority of students had to do some form of cutting back because of the recession. For example, out of 25 total students, 13 of them said that they have noticed changes in their families since the recession. Also, out of 29 students, 23 of them agreed that their families' spending patterns have changed. Most shockingly, out of 21 students, 14 of them said that the changes in school lunch prices have affected their lunch budget (Survey). Based on race, we found that black people are about 40% more likely to lose their job in the recession than whites. Also, white people's unemployment rate have gone up by 2.1%, but Hispanics and blacks have gone up 2.9% and 3.1%, respectively (Logan). Furthermore, in a survey of 54 families, 9 could not pay school fees and 21 got behind on payments with gas, water, and electricity (McDonald).

Overall, we found some shocking information that shows just how devastating a recession can be. Our solution, quite simply, is to lower cafeteria prices down to their original prices. Since freshman year, prices have gone up at least 5 cents a year. Now, $5 does not cut it for a sandwich. Some students find themselves paying as much as $7.50 for a school lunch. That can add up to $40 a week. This solution is also very practical for people at home. For example, if a student buys a sandwich with bacon and extra chicken, with a Snapple drink, this equals roughly $6.50. However, if the Snapple prices were lowered back to $1 per can (instead of $1.10), and sandwich prices were also lowered, this would save the student about $.50-1.50 a day. This may not seem like a lot, but there are 180 days in a school year, so a family would save almost $300. This can mean a lot to a family who is struggling to pay bills or feed their families.