In response to today’s article, “The American Dream is Out of Reach” by Tami Luhby.
This article is a very disturbing representation of America’s future! I came to the United States from Taiwan 40 years ago with $500 in my pocket. Today, I am a business owner of 4 businesses, an engineer, a Harvard Senior Research Fellow and a lifelong entrepreneur. I do not believe I stood a chance in any other country in the world but this land held promise and I found true success.
What is the American dream, really? My answer is simple:
• Freedom – Many nations value freedom as a principle, here it is a core value.
• Ingenuity – America is the only country where you can arrive with nothing and become a successful entrepreneur. I am living proof!
• Integrity – If you do business internationally, you can fully appreciate the integrity of most American businesses. We have crooks as well, but we have far less!
• Opportunity – Our GDB is $16.4 Trillion, more than the next four countries in line combined. We boast having 17 of the world’s top universities. Small businesses are the driving engine of our economy, employing over 50% of Americans.
• Inclusion – Gallop polls report that 150 Million people or 1 in 30 of the world’s population would like to migrate to America. If we have such a bleak future, what is it that attracts them to come here – if not for the American dream?
My message to young people is that possibilities remain unlimited and that it’s up to them to figure out what they want to do and how hard they are willing to work. It is not up to anybody else to decide their future. If they want the American dream, they have to create it in their own lives.
Paul Hsu, Author of Guardians of the Dream: The Enduring Legacy of America’s Immigrants.
