Living The American Dream

Wall Street rewarding itself with exorbitant bonuses in the midst of an economic crisis has rightfully been called appalling. That this money was taxpayer’s money makes it almost criminal. Still these financial executives are living the American Dream. Yes, the American Dream! Traditionally the American Dream has stressed monetary gain. Of course the pursuit of monetary gain is laden with pitfalls. The poor Mafioso discovered that his pursuit of the American Dream ended in a Federal Prison. Ex- Governor Blagojevich’s pursuit of the American Dream ended in a disgraceful removal from office. Bernard Madoff achieved the American Dream at the expense of his greedy investors but may find himself buried in the pyramid he created. Wall Street need not worry. They will have to weather the public’s indignation and a wag of the finger from the White House and Congress but their billions in bonuses will be intact. Why do they act so greedily and irresponsibly - their motto is “never look a gift horse in the mouth”. Better that they should heed President Clinton’s words about the American Dream, "We need a new spirit of community, a sense that we are all in this together, or the American Dream will continue to wither. Our destiny is bound up with the destiny of every other American."