American Dreaming

by digby

I missed this post by Susie Madrak last week. Unbelievable:

I just got off a conference call with Arlen Specter where I asked him why the Democrats don’t talk about the wave of entrepreneurship that would be unleashed if people knew they could leave their jobs, start a business and still get affordable health coverage for themselves and their families.

He was surprised, said it hadn’t occurred to him and wants me to give him names of people who would start their own businesses if they knew they could get affordable insurance.

It just occurred to him? Really? This is one of the primary reasons you need a safety net. How are people supposed to take entrepreneurial risks and create this dynamic economy we all supposedly want if the risks are so huge that they aren’t worth taking? Fergawdsake, aside from the “entrepreneurs” who would love to start a business there are also millions of people are trapped in jobs they hate because of health insurance. When even those who are insured are petrified to get sick because they could lose everything, your “dynamic” society grinds to a halt and everyone starts getting more and more reluctant to take any risks at all.

And our leaders need to keep in mind that one of the consequences of the Great Depression was that a whole generation became tremendously risk averse and it took a long time to get Americans back to their usual entrepreneurial selves. And while it would be really nice if some of the Masters of the Universe were so affected, it’s not a great thing for average people to be so traumatized that they lose their sense that they can improve their lot and that of their children.

I know that it’s taken as a given that the American Dream is some nostalgic suburban fantasy of a nice house and a car and all that material wealth. And maybe it is for some people. But I think the real American Dream is the idea that you can always reinvent yourself and your life in this country — that it’s possible to change your circumstances, and not just in a material way, but spiritually as well. The “pursuit of happiness” made real by opportunity and social mobility. If this remains a country where you can’t make a move without worrying that your family will lose everything if your kid gets sick or you lose your job, that dream is dead.

It’s not anti-capitalist in the least to advocate for social welfare and a strong safety net. Unless you want to live in a Hobbesian jungle, it’s a requirement.

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