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  • Chasing the American Dream with $25 & The American, A Magazine of Ideas

    The author's theory is that overcoming a harsh economic situation is really all about culture, e.g., someone born and raised in a culture of dependency, failure, and dereliction will find it much more difficult to lift himself out of poverty than Shepard [the author] did. "To be sure,... more

    Reviewed by yobaba May 10 2008, 01:26am ( 39 reviews ) • american.com

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  • Rated by Torchiest on Jan 26 2009, 3:39am

    This is so true. I've worked at a bar for more than a decade. I have a retirement savings account, a house, and a wonderful wife. But, I've seen dozens of people come through that are pretty much going day to day, not even paycheck to paycheck, since you bring home cash every night. Lots of people immediately drink away everything they earn. Sad.

  • Rated by quallsmd on Oct 28 2008, 9:53pm

    Proves you don't need government handouts.

  • Rated by AubreyMo on Oct 27 2008, 3:26pm

    Looks like a pretty interesting read about a guy who saved money starting from nothing.

  • Rated by TwoToo on Oct 26 2008, 5:20pm

    sounds interesting

  • Rated by treblemaker91 on Oct 25 2008, 3:25pm

    I like that he wanted to experience what it's like to be poor, but not that he went into it to prove a point. He's not trying to prove that the American Dream exists, he's trying to prove that he's better than all those stupid poor people.

  • Rated by Paul-K on Oct 24 2008, 5:01am

    I love seeing that Shepard was able to succeed, but I needn't point out the slew of advantages that he has, in terms of education, social advantage, and race/gender that he has over so many people in situations of generational poverty. Generational poverty has a different skill set, etc. etc. It's great to see that there *is* some social mobility. It's just less wide-spread than he would have you believe.

  • Rated by halidom on Oct 23 2008, 6:57pm

    Stop making it a dream and make it a reality.

  • Rated by artistrybysandy on Oct 23 2008, 5:47am

    Inspiring! - 'Ultimately, Shepard came away with the realization that "we are the product of our surroundings--our families, our peers, and our environment. Fortunately, there is hope for those truly devoted to self-improvement.' ~ thanks gounded99