The 1920s was a time of unbridled greed, which eventually led to the Great Depression. In many ways the 1980s (and certainly the George W. Bush years of 2001 to 2009) were similar to the twenties. Reckless spending during the 1980s led to a recession and an Economic Re/Pression (recession/depression plus political repression) during the Bush years. What the U.S. automobile industry did to the American Dream of Preston Tucker (a automobile innovator), Reagan and the Bushes did to the American Dream of first the poor and then the Middle Class. Although then, as now, millions of people have happily pursued the ideal represented by the American Dream, for many Americans, the American Dream turned out to merely be a Pipe Dream or even a nightmare.
[The original version of this essay first appeared in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper in the early '90s and as part of my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays]
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