The Real Obstacles to the American Dream

A recent editorial in the Dallas Morning News states that

The idea of the American Dream is that anyone can start from the bottom and work their way up by their own means. Unfortunately, that isn’t happening for everyone.

The editorial goes on to list five things that prove that a strong work ethic isn’t enough to rise out of poverty:

1. When you factor in transportation, Dallas is one of the least affordable big cities to live in
2. There aren’t enough affordable homes near jobs for the working poor
3. There aren’t enough well-paying jobs near the homes these folks can afford
4. There’s a major language barrier standing in the way of higher-paying jobs
5. Dallas is good at discussing problems, but we need solutions to restore the American Dream

There are several interesting things about this list. One of the most interesting is that nothing is said about the choices made by individuals and the economic consequences of those choices.

For example, if language is a barrier to higher-paying jobs, then why don’t individuals make the choice to improve their language skills and take the appropriate actions? There is nobody stopping the working poor from doing so, except the individuals who refuse to take such steps. An individual who refuses to acquire proficient language skills limits his economic prospects. And he has nobody to blame but himself.

Advocates for the working poor want us to look at the effects and ignore the cause. They want us to look at the current conditions of the working poor and disregard the lifetime of choices that have led to their current situation. The implication is, they are not responsible for their economic status.

The second interesting aspect of the editorial is that it makes no mention of government’s role in denying opportunity to aspiring entrepreneurs. One of the most egregious examples of this is occupational licensing.

Occupational licensing prohibits would-be entrepreneurs from starting a business without first securing permission from government officials. And sometimes the cost of acquiring that permission is outrageous. For example, to get a license to shampoo hair, an individual must complete 150 hours of training. A manicurist must complete 600 hours of training. And to cut hair, an individual must have 1,500 hours of training. Not surprisingly, the schools that offer this training are vocal defenders of occupational licensing.

An aspiring poor person can seldom afford the time and expense of obtaining this training. But they can’t open a barber shop or nail salon unless they get the permission of licensing officials.

The real obstacles to the American Dream aren’t a lack of government programs. The real obstacles are a lack of individual responsibility and government policies that prevent many individuals from being responsible. If we really want to encourage the American Dream, let’s remove the government imposed obstacles and encourage individuals to be responsible for their own well-being.