LASA 2: The Purpose and Effect of the American Dream

 

• Module 5 Overview Web Page
• M5 Assignment 1 SubmissionAssignment Due February 5 at 11:59 PMAssignment 1:  
  For this assignment, draw on all of the work we have done together throughout this term.
  First, choose either Crevecoeur’s Letter or Barack Obama’s November 7, 2007 speech (“Agenda to Reclaim the American Dream”). Describe their vision of life in America in terms of both its promise and its problems. Discuss their visions of America in terms of Adams’ definition of the American Dream.
  Next, choose two of the other texts we have read in the previous modules. Evaluate how the ideas, arguments, and problems presented in these texts compare to those presented by Crevecoeur or Obama. For instance, you might want to choose a text that confirms Crevecoeur’s (or Obama’s) vision of America and another text that challenges or problematizes that vision.
  Finally, assess the possibilities or impossibilities of achieving the American Dream as represented in these texts and the course generally. Has the progress of American life confirmed the possibility of the American Dream, or have the persistent challenges, divisions, and conflicts shown its impossibility? What progress has been realized and what still needs to be done?
  Write a 5–6 page paper in Word format (not counting title and reference page). Include an APA formatted title page and reference page.
  All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources.
• Assignment 1 Grading Criteria Maximum Points Define the concept of the American Dream presented by the chosen author.36Explain the potential problems that arise from the vision this author presents.48 Analyze the conceptions of the American Dream presented by two other authors and provide support for these claims using the appropriate texts.88 Draw meaningful conclusions about the possibility of achieving the American Dream by comparing and contrasting the visions presented.40 Describe how these visions still impact our conception of America today.24 Organization (16 points): Introduction, Thesis, Transitions, and Conclusion
  Usage and Mechanics (16 points): Grammar, Spelling, and Sentence Structure
  APA Elements (24 points): Attribution, Paraphrasing, and Quotations
  Style (8 points): Audience, and Word Choice 64 Total:300

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BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN TO RECLAIM THE AMERICAN DREAM

The American dream is increasingly out of reach for many people. Americans with incomes below
$100,000 have experienced stagnating wages, declining health care coverage, erosion of pension
protections, rising personal debt, jobs disappearing as a result of global competition and rising housing
costs. Further, the gap between America’s richest and poorest is at its widest points in at least 25
years. At a time when costs are rising and Americans are working harder just to keep up, Barack
Obama will provide relief for the middle class and support for working people. In addition to his health
care and tax relief plans, Obama will make college affordable, reform our bankruptcy and credit card
laws, protect the balance between work and family, and put a secure and dignified retirement within
the reach of all Americans. Obama has been a strong advocate for working people throughout his
public life, and he will stand up to special interests and bring America together to reclaim the
American dream.

Barack Obama’s Agenda to Reclaim the American Dream

Provide middle class tax cuts of up to $1,000 for working families.

Address the challenge of balancing work and family by guaranteeing workers paid
sick days, expanding Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), supporting paid
FMLA, and doubling after-school programs.

Help Americans buy and keep their homes.

Protect American families by reforming bankruptcy laws, predatory credit card

policies, and abusive payday lending practices.

Reduce health care costs by $2,500 for a typical family.

Strengthen retirement security by automatically enrolling workers in portable
retirement accounts and providing additional incentives for Americans to save.

Put the cost of college in reach for by providing a $4,000 refundable tax credit

available at the time of enrollment.

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I. TAX FAIRNESS

For decades, gaps in wealth have grown, while the costs to working people have increased. The Bush
Administration’s tax policies have made the problem worse: this year alone, the average person in the
wealthiest 1 percent of Americans will receive more than $55,000 from the Bush tax cuts, while the
average person in the bottom 20 percent of Americans will get about $70. And while corporations can
hire expensive lobbyists to change something they don’t like in the tax code, working Americans don’t
have that same luxury. Barack Obama’s tax fairness proposal puts the interests of the middle class
first.

Making Work Pay for Working Families
The Obama plan will give working families immediate and direct relief – every middle class working
American will receive a $500 “Making Work Pay” tax credit that will fully offset the first $500 of
payroll tax they pay, or $1,000 per working family. This refundable tax credit will benefit 150 million
working Americans and their families. Ten million working Americans will no longer have to pay any
income taxes as a result of this plan. Millions of small business owners who have to pay both the
employer and employee portions of the payroll tax, will benefit from this reduction of the self-
employment tax. For those low and middle-income seniors who are retired and are not eligible for this
workers’ credit, the Obama plan will provide direct tax relief by eliminating all income taxes for
seniors who make under $50,000 per year.

Simplify Tax Filings for Middle Class Americans
The Obama tax fairness plan will also reduce taxpayers’ headaches and payments during tax season by
simplifying tax filings so middle class Americans can complete their taxes on their own in 5 minutes or
less. Experts estimate that this innovative proposal will save middle class Americans up to 200 million
total hours of work and aggravation and up to $2 billion in tax preparer fees.

II. WORK-FAMILY BALANCE

American workers expect that achieving the American Dream will take hard work. But they do not
expect that it will require them to abandon their children and aging parents in times of need. As larger
percentages of women have entered the workforce, working hours have grown longer, and workers
find themselves caring for their aging and infirm parents, family caregiving has been stressed and
stretched. Most American workers cannot adjust their work schedules to handle a family emergency
without the risk of losing their jobs or take a day off to care for a sick or newborn child without the risk
of losing pay or vacation days. As president, Barack Obama will ensure that our government’s policies
match the reality of our working lives.

Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities
Expanding access to high-quality afterschool programs will help children learn and strengthen a broad
range of skills and provide relief to working parents who have to juggle child care and work
responsibilities. Barack Obama will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool
programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children. Obama
will include measures to maximize performance and effectiveness across grantees nationwide.

Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides too little relief to families that struggle to afford
child care expenses. Currently the credit only covers up to 35 percent of the first $3,000 of child care
expenses a family incurs for one child and the first $6,000 for a family with two or more children. And
the credit is not refundable, which means that upper-income families disproportionately benefit while
families who make under $50,000 a year receive less than a third of the tax credit. Barack Obama will

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reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income
families to receive up to a 50 percent credit for their child care expenses. Coupled with Obama’s
“Making Work Pay” tax credit, this proposal will help put more money directly in the pockets of
hardworking low and middle-income parents.

Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The FMLA covers only certain employees of employers with 50 or more employees. As a result, only
about half of American workers are eligible for leave under the FMLA. Barack Obama will expand
the FMLA to cover businesses with 25 or more employees.

Barack Obama will expand the FMLA to cover more purposes as well. He will:

• Allow workers to take leave for elder care needs.
• Allow parents up to 24 hours of leave each year to participate in their children’s academic

activities at school. Many states, including California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
Nevada, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia, have enacted
laws that allow parents to take time off to participate in designated school-related functions.

• Allow leave to be taken for purposes of caring for individuals who reside in their home for 6
months or more.

• Expand FMLA to cover leave for employees to address domestic violence and sexual assault
against themselves, their children, or their parents.

Encourage States to Adopt Paid Leave
According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, 78 percent of employees covered by
the FMLA who have needed leave but have not taken it report that it is because they could not afford
to take unpaid leave. Of those employees who could not afford leave, nearly 88 percent report that
they would have taken leave if they had been able to receive some pay while away from work.
Furthermore, access to paid leave is correlated with income and education, with low-income families
least likely to have the resources or savings to compensate for time off. The states have begun to
respond. California, for example, has recently initiated paid leave through its disability insurance fund,
thereby making sure that the costs aren’t borne by employers alone. As president, Barack Obama will
initiate a 50 state strategy to encourage all of the states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama will
provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for
employees and employers. Obama’s Department of Labor will also provide technical information to
the states on how to craft paid-leave programs consistent with their local needs.

Paid Sick Days
Half of all private sector workers have no paid sick days and the problem is worse for employees in
low-paying jobs, where less than a quarter receive any paid sick days. Barack Obama will require that
employers provide seven paid sick days per year.

Protect Against Caregiver Discrimination
Workers with family obligations often are discriminated against in the workplace. This is a growing
problem, as evidenced by the skyrocketing number of discrimination suits being filed: there has been a
400 percent increase in the number of family responsibility discrimination lawsuits in the last decade.
Obama will prevent parents from being discriminated against because of caregiving responsibilities.
Barack Obama will commit the government to enforcing recently-enacted Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission guidelines on caregiver discrimination.

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Expand Flexible Work Arrangements
Working parents often have to juggle not only child care responsibilities, but also care responsibilities
for elderly relatives. Barack Obama will address this concern by creating a program to inform
businesses about the benefits of flexible work schedules for productivity and establishing positive
workplaces; helping businesses create flexible work opportunities; and increasing federal incentives
for telecommuting. Obama will also make the federal government a model employer in terms of
adopting flexible work schedules and permitting employees to petition to request flexible
arrangements. This program has achieved great success in Great Britain, and Obama will replicate it
throughout the federal government.

III. HOUSING

Owning a home is the cornerstone of the American Dream, yet today, too many working families are
finding it just out of reach. The implosion of the subprime lending industry threatens to bring
foreclosure to over two million households, including many families with children. And some
estimates have reported that homeowners may lose upwards of $164 billion, primarily from lost home
equity.

Mandate Accurate Loan Disclosure
Today’s subprime mortgage problem stems in large part from the lack of easy-to-understand
information that borrowers receive from mortgage brokers. As president, Barack Obama will enact
laws to ensure that all prospective homebuyers have access to accurate and complete information about
their mortgage options. Obama will create a Homeowner Obligation Made Explicit (HOME) score,
which will provide potential borrowers with a simplified, standardized borrower metric (similar to the
Annual Percentage Rate (APR) the effective interest rate that the borrower will pay on a loan) for
home mortgages. The HOME score will allow individuals to easily compare various mortgage
products and understand the full cost of the loan. The HOME score would also help borrowers
understand their long-term obligations and would be required to include mandatory taxes and
insurance.

Create Fund to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosures
In addition to taking important steps to prevent mortgage fraud from occurring in the future, Barack
Obama will establish policies to help Americans currently facing foreclosure through no fault of their
own. For instance, in communities where there are many foreclosures, the property values of other
homeowners are often also negatively impacted, destroying equity and wealth even for the
homeowners who are managing to make their mortgage payments. Obama will create a fund to help
people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners. The
fund will also assist individuals who purchased homes that are simply too expensive for their income
levels by helping to sell their homes. The fund will help offset costs of selling a home, including
helping low-income borrowers get additional time and support to pay back any losses from the sale of
their home and waiving certain federal, state and local income taxes that result from an individual
selling their home to avoid foreclosure. The fund will be partially paid for by Obama’s increased
penalties on lenders who act irresponsibly and commit fraud.

Combat Mortgage Fraud and Subprime Loans
Barack Obama introduced comprehensive legislation over a year ago to fight mortgage fraud and
protect consumers against abusive lending practices. Obama’s STOP FRAUD Act:

• Provides the first federal definition of mortgage fraud.
• Increases funding for federal and state law enforcement programs.
• Creates new criminal penalties for mortgage professionals found guilty of fraud.

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• Requires industry insiders to report suspicious activity.
• Provides counseling to homeowners and tenants to avoid foreclosures.
• Gives borrowers additional rights to protect themselves during foreclosure proceedings.
• Requires the Government Accountability Office to evaluate and report to Congress on various

state lending practices so that state regulations that undermine consumer’s rights can be
identified and hopefully eliminated.

Provide a New Mortgage Interest Tax Credit
The Obama plan will also provide more Americans with the financial assistance they need to invest in
purchasing their own home. Currently, many middle class Americans do not get the existing mortgage
interest tax deduction because they do not itemize their taxes. As a result, primarily wealthy
Americans benefit from this homeownership tax incentive. Obama will ensure that middle class
Americans finally get the financial assistance they need to purchase their own home by creating a 10
percent universal mortgage credit that give tax relief to Americans who have a home mortgage. The
Obama proposal will provide 10 million homeowners, most of whom earn under $50,000 per year with
an average of $500 in savings.

IV. PROTECT FAMILIES BY REFORMING BANKRUPTCY & CREDIT CARD LAWS

Reform Corporate Bankruptcy Laws to Protect Workers
Workers risk losing everything when their company goes bankrupt. Too many employees have
worked hard, played by the rules and contributed to private pensions only to find themselves left in the
lurch when their companies went bankrupt.

Current bankruptcy laws are designed to protect banks before workers by helping companies get
capital to get back on their feet, but in so doing it has made it easier for bankrupt companies to shed
pension and health care obligations to retired workers.

Barack Obama has supported efforts to force firms to put more money into their pension funds and
make them solvent so workers aren’t left with a bunch of worthless IOU’s after thirty years of service.
As president, Obama will:

• Put promises to workers higher on the list of debts that companies cannot shed.
• Ensure that the bankruptcy courts do not allow companies to demand more sacrifice from

workers than from executives when companies fall on hard times.
• Protect the jobs and benefits of workers and retirees when corporations file for bankruptcy by

telling companies that they cannot issue bonuses for executives during bankruptcy while their
workers watch their pensions disappear.

• Increase the amount of unpaid wages and benefits workers can claim in bankruptcy court
against their employer.

• Limit the circumstances under which retiree benefits can be reduced.

Reform Bankruptcy Laws to Protect Families Facing a Medical Crisis
More than half of all personal bankruptcies today are caused by medical bills. Barack Obama will
protect workers who fall into personal bankruptcy as a result of a medical crisis. Current law, which
Obama opposed in the 2005 bankruptcy bill, provides too many families with inadequate relief when
faced by an unforeseen medical crisis. Obama will create an exemption from the new law’s
requirement that middle class families extend their debts rather than have them forgiven. If a person
can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the bankruptcy court that the reason they filed for

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bankruptcy was a result of debts incurred through medical expenses, then Obama believes they should
be relieved of that debt through a process that lets them get back on their feet.

Close Bankruptcy Loophole for Mortgage Companies
The 2005 bankruptcy bill, which Barack Obama opposed, is expected to have serious effects on low
and middle-income borrowers of subprime mortgages. While investors who own multiple homes and
people with vacation homes can renegotiate those mortgages in bankruptcy, current Chapter 13 law
requires ordinary families to stick with the original terms of their home loans—regardless of whether
the loan was predatory or unfair. Obama will repeal this provision so that ordinary families do not
suffer this unfair treatment.

Cap Outlandish Interest Rates on Payday Loans and Improve Disclosure
In the wake of reports that some service members were paying 800 percent interest on payday loans,
the U.S. Congress took bipartisan action to limit interest rates charged to service members to 36
percent. Barack Obama believes that we must extend this protection to all Americans, because
predatory lending continues to be a major problem for low and middle income families alike. Obama
also believes that we need to ensure that all Americans have access to clear and simplified information
about loan fees, payments and penalties, which is why he’ll require lenders to provide this information
during the loan application process. Furthermore, Obama will work to empower more Americans in
the fight against predatory lending by supporting initiatives to improve financial literacy and financial
planning.

Encourage Responsible Lending Institutions to Make Small Consumer Loans
Some mainstream, responsible lending institutions are beginning to enter the short-term lending market
to provide many Americans with fair alternatives to predatory lending institutions. These loans
provide a reasonable period of time to be repaid, charge fair interest rates, and often ensure that the
borrower has the ability to repay the loan on time. Some of these lending efforts are coupled with
enhanced financial literacy training, which can ensure that Americans do not become caught in a
never-ending cycle of debt. Barack Obama will work with his Secretary of Treasury and the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation to encourage banks, credit unions and Community Development
Financial Institutions to provide affordable short-term and small dollar loans – and to drive the sharks
out of business.

Create a Credit Card Rating System to Improve Disclosure
Barack Obama will create a credit card rating system, modeled on five-star systems used for other
consumer products, to provide consumers an easily identifiable ranking of credit cards. Under the
Obama plan, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will assess the degree to which credit cards meet
consumer-friendly standards. The FTC will test for a set of credit card features that are deemed the
most dangerous for consumers, including the underwriting standards used to issue the card, the card’s
interest rate spread between the introductory rate and the maximum rate allowed, and transaction fees.
The FTC will assign ratings so that consumers can easily understand if a credit card agreement meets
or exceeds standards of safety. Credit card companies will be required to display the rating on all
application and contract materials, enabling consumers to quickly understand all of the major
provisions of a credit card without having to rely exclusively on fine print in lengthy
documents. Credit card companies will also be required to disclose in simplified, clear language all of
the major features of the card in addition to their FTC rating to provide consumers with additional
information to compare credit card products.

Establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to Protect Consumers
Credit cards could turn into the next subprime market crisis, and New Hampshire families have among
the highest personal debt levels in the country. In addition to being able to easily understand how risky

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a given credit card is, every American should have a uniform set of rights while dealing with credit
card companies, no matter their financial status or credit history. To protect those rights, Barack
Obama will require the Federal Trade Commission to analyze credit card company compliance with
these basic rights, and provide the Department of Justice with the full authority to investigate and
penalize non-compliant companies. The Obama credit card bill of rights will:

• Ban Unilateral Changes: Currently, credit card companies can unilaterally change the terms
of a credit card agreement at any time for any reason with only a 15-day notice to the
consumer. Barack Obama will ban these unilateral changes in credit card agreements unless
companies have obtained written consent from consumers and have followed the rules and
terms of the agreement.

• Apply Interest Rate Increases Only to Future Debt: Credit card companies often apply
increased interest rates to both new debt incurred by the cardholder, as well as previously
incurred debt. Barack Obama will require increased interest rates to apply only to future credit
card debt, and not to debt incurred prior to the increase.

• Prohibit Interest on Fees: Credit card companies often charge interest on transaction fees,
such as late fees or paying a bill by telephone. Barack Obama will prohibit credit card issuers
from charging interest on transaction fees.

• Prohibit “Universal Defaults”: “Universal defaults” are a practice in which a credit card
company raises an individual’s interest rate based on failure to pay a different creditor on time.
Barack Obama will prohibit this practice.

• Require Prompt and Fair Crediting of Cardholder Payments: Barack Obama will require
credit card issuers to apply payments first to the credit card balance with the highest rate of
interest and to minimize finance charges.

V. HEALTH CARE

Although the U.S. offers the best medical technology and scientific research in the world, too many
middle class Americans are either underinsured or struggling to pay their monthly premiums because
of the skyrocketing price of health care. Health insurance premiums have risen four times faster than
wages over the past six years, resulting in many small businesses and individuals shedding their health
insurance simply because they can’t afford to keep up with these increases. And the price of
prescription drugs continues to rise unimpeded as well, meaning that too many low and middle-income
seniors and working families cannot afford the medicines they need.

Provide Universal Health Care Access and Lower Costs
There are 47 million Americans, including 9 million children, who lack health insurance, and the vast
majority of the uninsured are part of members working families. Barack Obama is committed to
signing a universal health care reform plan into law by the end of his first term as president. The
Obama plan provides every American with affordable, quality and portable health insurance coverage.
By making strategic investments in health information technology, prevention, chronic disease
management and streamlining administrative costs, this proposal will also cut health insurance costs by
$2,500 per year for middle class families. The Obama proposal will also take on the big drug and
insurance companies to ensure that Americans have access to safe and cheap prescription drugs, and
that bureaucratic obstacles do not get in the way of effective medical treatment.

Obama will create a new national health plan that allows Americans to purchase affordable health
coverage similar to that given to Members of Congress, and Obama will also create a National Health
Insurance Exchange for individuals to purchase affordable and quality private insurance. The Obama
reform plan will feature guaranteed eligibility so no American will be turned away from any insurance

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plan because of illness or pre-existing conditions. The new public program will also be available to
self-employed business owners and other small businesses that want to offer insurance to their
employees, but cannot because of the prohibitive costs of insurance. Obama will ensure that low and
middle-income Americans can afford health insurance coverage by providing an income-based sliding
scale subsidy to people and families who need it.

VI. PROVIDE GREATER RETIREMENT SECURITY

Strengthen Social Security
Barack Obama recognizes that Social Security is indispensable to workers and seniors, and it is
probably the most important and most successful programs that our country has ever made. Obama is
committed to making sure Social Security is solvent and viable for the American people, now and in
the future.

Although the underlying Social Security system remains strong, the projected long-term cash flow of
the program needs to be addressed, particularly as the baby boom generation begins to retire. This is a
real but manageable problem. Obama will be honest with the American people about the solvency of
Social Security and the ways we can address the shortfall. Obama will make it a top priority of his
administration to protect Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries alike. And he
does not believe it is necessary or fair to hardworking seniors to raise the retirement age. He will also
continue his long record of opposing the privatization of Social Security, which has dominated the
debate in Washington for too long.

Barack Obama believes that the first place to look for ways to strengthen Social Security is the payroll
tax system. Currently, the Social Security payroll tax applies to only the first $97,500 a worker makes.
Obama supports increasing the maximum amount of earnings covered by Social Security and he will
work with Congress and the American people to choose a payroll tax reform package that will keep
Social Security completely solvent for at least the next half century.

Create Automatic Workplace Pensions
Currently, 75 million working Americans – roughly half the workforce – lack employer-based
retirement plans. Even when workers are given the option of joining employer-based plans, many do
not take up the option because it requires considerable work to research plans and investment
portfolios, and to enroll in the plan. However, test studies of automatic enrollment retirement plans
have found that when employees, including low-income employees who are the least likely to save, are
given easy options to save, they overwhelmingly choose to do so. Various automatic enrollment tests
have resulted in enrollment rates between 75 and 90 percent.

Barack Obama’s automatic workplace pension plan will dramatically increase both the number of
Americans who save for retirement and the overall amount of personal savings for individuals. Under
this plan, employers who do not currently offer a retirement plan, will be required to automatically
enroll their employees in a direct-deposit IRA account. Employees may opt-out by signing a written
waiver. Even after enrollment, employees will retain the right to change their savings levels,
reallocate investment portfolios or end contributions to the account. Obama’s plan will give options to
the self-employed to access new easy-to-enroll savings plans and direct the IRS to deposit tax refunds
into those savings plans for people who choose to save some of their refunds. Under the Obama plan
when employees change jobs, their savings will be automatically rolled over into the new employer’s
system to ensure continued savings.

To minimize administrative burdens on employers, Obama will set up a direct-deposit system that is
compatible with the existing direct-deposit payroll system that most large employers already utilize.

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For most firms, offering payroll deduction IRAs will involve little cost since the employer will not be
maintaining a plan; rather they would be acting as a forwarding agent for employee contributions. In
addition, Obama will make temporary tax credits available to firms to defer the cost of establishing
these plans. Firms with fewer than 10 employees or who have been in business for less than two years
will be exempt from this requirement, but may take advantage of this low-cost opportunity to offer a
saving plan for their employees if they so choose.

Obama will also require annual disclosures to plan participants that detail in clear and simple language
the amount of fees incurred and investments made. This measure will help ensure that retirement plans
actually help workers over time, rather than investment and consulting firms. Obama will also require
that businesses choose a default investment plan that has an investment portfolio similar to that of the
federal Thrift Savings Plan, low-management fees and does not include company stock.

This program is projected to dramatically increase savings by low- and middle-income workers who do
not currently save. In fact, experts estimate that this program will increase the participation rate for
them from its current 15 percent level to around 80 percent.

Expand Retirement Savings Incentives for Working Families
Barack Obama will ensure savings incentives are fair to all workers by creating a generous savings
match for low and middle-income Americans. Obama will expand the existing Savers Credit to match
50 percent of the first $1,000 of savings for families that earn under $75,000, and he will make the tax
credit refundable. To help ensure that this proposal actually strengthens retirement investments, the
savings match will be automatically deposited into designated personal accounts by using the account
information listed on IRS tax filings. Coupled with the automatic workplace pension plan, this
proposal will stimulate tens of millions of new Americans to invest for retirement. Over 80 percent of
the savings incentives will go to new savers, and 75 percent of people eligible for the incentives who
are expected to participate in the new program do not currently save.

Require Full Disclosure of Company Pension Investments
Barack Obama believes we must ensure private companies properly fund their pension plans so
taxpayers do not end up footing the bill. However, even when companies fund their pensions, many do
not disclose their investments with the employee’s pension dollars. This lack of transparency can
make it easier for fund managers to make imprudent or even fraudulent investment decisions. Obama
will ensure that all employees who have company pensions receive annual disclosures about their
pension fund’s investments, including full details about which projects have been invested in, the
performance of those investments and appropriate details about probable future investments strategies.
This measure will provide employees and retirees important resources to make their pension fund more
secure.

VII. MAKE COLLEGE AFFORDABLE FOR ALL

To be successful in the 21st Century economy, America’s workforce must be more innovative and
productive than our competitors. Giving every American the opportunity to attend and afford and be
successful in college is critical to meeting that challenge. As tuition costs swell and grant-aid fails to
keep pace, students and their families are having a harder time paying for college.

• College costs have grown nearly 40 percent in the past five years
• 60 percent of all college graduates leave college with debt.
• The average graduates leaves college with over $19,000 in debt
• Between 2001 and 2010, 2 million academically qualified students will not go to college

because they cannot afford it.

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• Only 12 percent of Hispanics and 16 percent of African Americans eventually earn a bachelor’s
degree – compared with 33 percent of White students. The rising cost of college is a factor in
this disparity.

These trends not only threaten our competitiveness in the global marketplace, but also our ability to
maintain and improve our economy at home. Higher education is also the key to reversing the income
disparities that are dividing our nation into haves and have-nots. The earnings of Americans who have
only a high school degree have fallen steadily for three decades, while college graduate income has
continued to rise during this same period.

In the 1990s, Congress crafted a system of tax credits to supplement the existing federal loan and grant
programs to make college more affordable. While these credits have helped, college still remains out
of reach for far too many students. The HOPE Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits, in
particular, have been inadequate in making college more affordable for low-income students for two
reasons. First, these credits are not fully refundable. A family of four must earn above $30,000 to
claim the maximum credits, and studies have shown that up to half of eligible families cannot claim the
credits because their income is too low. Second, our current system is a complicated maze of federal
tax credits, grants, and student loan programs. As a result, far too many students are unaware of
student financial aid that can help make college more affordable and fail to take advantage of existing
federal aid programs. And those students receive the aid far too late – up to a year or more after they
make the decision to attend college.

Simplify the Application Process for Financial Aid
The application process for financial aid is cumbersome and evidence shows it may be a reason why
students never apply for college. Research has shown that the low take-up rate of the Pell Grant and
HOPE and Lifetime Learning tax credit programs is likely due to the complexity of the application
process. The current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is 5 pages and 127 questions
– making it longer and more involved than many federal tax returns. Not surprisingly, over 1.5 million
high school students failed to apply for aid in 2004, despite being eligible for a Pell Grant. A recent
study by Susan Dynarski and Judith Scott-Clayton found that the costs of complexity in our financial
aid processes fall most heavily on low-income, non-white, and non-English speaking youth. Barack
Obama will simplify the financial aid process by eliminating the FAFSA and its complicated
calculations altogether. Instead, aid would be based on a much simpler yet equally accurate formula, so
that students can predict their eligibility well in advance. The aid process will be streamlined by
enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax
information to be used and eliminating the need for a separate application.

American Opportunity Tax Credit
Barack Obama will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American
Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a
college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition
at the average public college or university. And by making the tax credit fully refundable, Obama’s
credit will help low-income families that need it the most. Obama will also ensure that the tax credit is
available to families at the time of enrollment by using prior year’s tax data to deliver the credit at the
time that tuition is due, rather than a year or more later when tax returns are filed.

Help Students Become Aware of College Readiness
Another common reason that high school students decide not to attend college is that they discover
they are unprepared for it in 12th grade. By that time, it is too late for many of them to do anything to
address the problem before they graduate. Some states have developed an Early Assessment Program
that enables 11th graders and their families to ascertain if they are on track to be college ready by the

Paid for by Obama for America

time they graduate. The voluntary test and the presentation of results are specifically designed to
inform students what they need to do to prepare for college while they still have time to do it. This
program will increase college readiness and is voluntary. Barack Obama will provide $25 million
annually in matching funds for states to develop Early Assessment Programs. These funds will also
promote state efforts to raise awareness about the availability of federal and state financial aid
programs.

Expanded Pell Grants for Low-Income Students
Two decades ago, the maximum Pell Grant covered 55 percent of costs at a public four-year college,
compared with only 32 percent today. The first bill Barack Obama introduced in the U.S. Senate
would have helped make college more affordable for many Americans by increasing the maximum
Pell Grant from the limit of $4,050 to a new maximum of $5,100. Obama has worked in a bipartisan
way on the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee to achieve an increase in the Pell
Grant to $5,400 over the next few years. As president, Obama will continue to work to ensure that the
maximum Pell Grant award is increased for low-income students. Specifically, he will ensure that the
award keeps pace with the rising cost of college inflation.

Community College Partnership Program
Community colleges are a vital component of our higher education system, serving 12 million people
each year, almost half the undergraduate students in the U.S. Without community colleges, millions of
people would not be able to access the education and skills they need to further education or succeed in
the workplace. Barack Obama will create a Community College Partnership Program to strengthen
community colleges by providing grants to (a) conduct more thorough analysis of the types of skills
and technical education that are in high demand from students and local industry; (b) implement new
associate of arts degree programs that cater to emerging industry and technical career demands; and (c)
reward those institutions that graduate more students and also increase their numbers of transfer
students to four-year institutions. These efforts will ensure that community college students are able to
directly use their skills in the workforce following graduation, and be prepared to continue their higher
education. And the grants will support programs that facilitate transfers from two-year institutions to
four-year institutions.

Eliminate Costly Bank Subsidies
Currently, there are two basic college loan programs: the Direct Loan system, funded publicly, and the
Federal Family Education Loan Program, funded privately by banks and lenders who receive subsidies
and guarantees from the government. Privately funded loans cost more per loan than the Direct Loan
program and provide no greater benefits. Obama will save taxpayer money billions by eliminating the
more expensive private loan program, and directing that money into aid for students.

VII. A COMMITMENT TO FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
Barack Obama will implement these proposals in a fiscally responsible manner that does not increase
the federal deficit. Obama will use savings from his proposal to require that all federal contract orders
over $25,000 be competitively awarded; slash congressional earmark spending to no greater than year
2001 levels; and eliminate wasteful subsidies to private student lenders. Obama will also reform
Internal Revenue Service collection of capital gains taxes by ensuring that the basis and sale price of
the investment are accurately reported to cut a significant portion of the capital gains tax gap.

Letter III

Letters from an American Farmer (1782)

J. Hector St. John Crevecoeur

Exerpt from LETTER III.

WHAT IS AN AMERICAN.

I WISH I could be acquainted with the feelings and thoughts which must agitate the heart and present
themselves to the mind of an enlightened Englishman, when he first lands on this continent. He must greatly
rejoice that he lived at a time to see this fair country discovered and settled; he must necessarily feel a share
of national pride, when he views the chain of settlements which embellishes these extended shores. When he
says to himself, this is the work of my countrymen, who, when convulsed by factions, afflicted by a variety
of miseries and wants, restless and impatient, took refuge here. They brought along with them their national
genius, to which they principally owe what liberty they enjoy, and what substance they possess. Here he
sees the industry of his native country displayed in a new manner, and traces in their works the embrios of
all the arts, sciences, and ingenuity which flourish in Europe. Here he beholds fair cities, substantial villages,
extensive fields, an immense country filled with decent houses, good roads, orchards, meadows, and
bridges, where an hundred years ago all was wild, woody and uncultivated! What a train of pleasing ideas
this fair spectacle must suggest; it is a prospect which must inspire a good citizen with the most heartfelt
pleasure. The difficulty consists in the manner of viewing so extensive a scene. He is arrived on a new
continent; a modern society offers itself to his contemptation, different from what he had hitherto seen. It is
not composed, as in Europe, of great lords who possess every thing and of a herd of people who have
nothing. Here are no aristocratical families, no courts, no kings, no bishops, no ecclesiastical dominion, no
invisible power giving to a few a very visible one; no great manufacturers employing thousands, no great
refinements of luxury. The rich and the poor are not so far removed from each other as they are in Europe.
Some few towns excepted, we are all tillers of the earth, from Nova Scotia to West Florida. We are a
people of cultivators, scattered over an immense territory communicating with each other by means of good
roads and navigable rivers, united by the silken bands of mild government, all respecting the laws, without
dreading their power, because they are equitable. We are all animated with the spirit of an industry which is
unfettered and unrestrained, because each person works for himself. If he travels through our rural districts
he views not the hostile castle, and the haughty mansion, contrasted with the clay-built hut and miserable
cabbin, where cattle and men help to keep each other warm, and dwell in meanness, smoke, and indigence.
A pleasing uniformity of decent competence appears throughout our habitations. The meanest of our
log-houses is a dry and comfortable habitation. Lawyer or merchant are the fairest titles our towns afford;
that of a farmer is the only appellation of the rural inhabitants of our country. It must take some time ere he
can reconcile himself to our dictionary, which is but short in words of dignity, and names of honour. (There,
on a Sunday, he sees a congregation of respectable farmers and their wives, all clad in neat homespun, well
mounted, or riding in their own humble waggons. There is not among them an esquire, saving the unlettered
magistrate. There he sees a parson as simple as his flock, a farmer who does not riot on the labour of
others. We have no princes, for whom we toil, starve, and bleed: we are the most perfect society now

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existing in the world. Here man is free; as he ought to be; nor is this pleasing equality so transitory as many
others are. Many ages will not see the shores of our great lakes replenished with inland nations, nor the
unknown bounds of North America entirely peopled. Who can tell how far it extends? Who can tell the
millions of men whom it will feed and contain? for no European foot has as yet travelled half the extent of
this mighty continent!

The next wish of this traveller will be to know whence came all these people? they are mixture of English,
Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans, and Swedes. From this promiscuous breed, that race now called
Americans have arisen. The eastern provinces must indeed be excepted, as being the unmixed descendants
of Englishmen. I have heard many wish that they had been more intermixed also: for my part, I am no
wisher, and think it much better as it has happened. They exhibit a most conspicuous figure in this great and
variegated picture; they too enter for a great share in the pleasing perspective displayed in these thirteen
provinces. I know it is fashionable to reflect on them, but I respect them for what they have done; for the
accuracy and wisdom with which they have settled their territory; for the decency of their manners; for their
early love of letters; their ancient college, the first in this hemisphere; for their industry; which to me who am
but a farmer, is the criterion of everything. There never was a people, situated as they are, who with so
ungrateful a soil have done more in so short a time. Do you think that the monarchical ingredients which are
more prevalent in other governments, have purged them from all foul stains? Their histories assert the
contrary.

In this great American asylum, the poor of Europe have by some means met together, and in consequence
of various causes; to what purpose should they ask one another what countrymen they are? Alas, two thirds
of them had no country. Can a wretch who wanders about, who works and starves, whose life is a continual
scene of sore affliction or pinching penury; can that man call England or any other kingdom his country? A
country that had no bread for him, whose fields procured him no harvest, who met with nothing but the
frowns of the rich, the severity of the laws, with jails and punishments; who owned not a single foot of the
extensive surface of this planet? No! urged by a variety of motives, here they came. Every thing has tended
to regenerate them; new laws, a new mode of living, a new social system; here they are become men: in
Europe they were as so many useless plants, wanting vegitative mould, and refreshing showers; they
withered, and were mowed down by want, hunger, and war; but now by the power of transplantation, like
all other plants they have taken root and flourished! Formerly they were not numbered in any civil lists of
their country, except in those of the poor; here they rank as citizens. By what invisible power has this
surprising metamorphosis been performed? By that of the laws and that of their industry. The laws, the
indulgent laws, protect them as they arrive, stamping on them the symbol of adoption; they receive ample
rewards for their labours; these accumulated rewards procure them lands; those lands confer on them the
title of freemen, and to that title every benefit is affixed which men can possibly require. This is the great
operation daily performed by our laws. From whence proceed these laws? From our government. Whence
the government? It is derived from the original genius and strong desire of the people ratified and confirmed
by the crown. This is the great chain which links us all, this is the picture which every province exhibits,
Nova Scotia excepted. There the crown has done all; either there were no people who had genius, or it was
not much attended to: the consequence is, that the province is very thinly inhabited indeed; the power of the
crown in conjunction with the musketos has prevented men from settling there. Yet some parts of it
flourished once, and it contained a mild harmless set of people. But for the fault of a few leaders, the whole
were banished. The greatest political error the crown ever committed in America, was to cut off men from a

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country which wanted nothing but men!

What attachment can a poor European emigrant have for a country where he had nothing? The knowledge
of the language, the love of a few kindred as poor as himself, were the only cords that tied him: his country
is now that which gives him land, bread, protection, and consequence: Ubi panis ibi patria, is the motto of
all emigrants. What then is the American, this new man? He is either an European, or the descendant of an
European, hence that strange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country. I could point out to
you a family whose grandfather was an Englishman, whose wife was Dutch, whose son married a French
woman, and whose present four sons have now four wives of different nations. He is an American, who
leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he
has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds. He becomes an American by
being received in the broad lap of our great Alma Mater. Here individuals of all nations are melted into a
new race of men, whose labours and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world. Americans are
the western pilgrims, who are carrying along with them that great mass of arts, sciences, vigour, and industry
which began long since in the east; they will finish the great circle. The Americans were once scattered all
over Europe; here they are incorporated into one of the finest systems of population which has ever
appeared, and which will hereafter become distinct by the power of the different climates they inhabit. The
American ought therefore to love this country much better than that wherein either he or his forefathers were
born. Here the rewards of his industry follow with equal steps the progress of his labour; his labour is
founded on the basis of nature, self-interest; can it want a stronger allurement? Wives and children, who
before in vain demanded of him a morsel of bread, now, fat and frolicsome, gladly help their father to clear
those fields whence exuberant crops are to arise to feed and to clothe them all; without any part being
claimed, either by a despotic prince, a rich abbot, or a mighty lord. I lord religion demands but little of him;
a small voluntary salary to the minister, and gratitude to God; can he refuse these? The American is a new
man, who acts upon new principles; he must therefore entertain new ideas, and form new opinions. From
involuntary idleness, servile dependence, penury, and useless labour, he has passed to toils of a very
different nature, rewarded by ample subsistence. –This is an American.

………………………………………………………………….

Exclusive of those general characteristics, each province has its own, founded on the government, climate,
mode of husbandry, customs, and peculiarity of circumstances. Europeans submit insensibly to these great
powers, and become, in the course of a few generations, not only Americans in general, but either
Pennsylvanians, Virginians, or provincials under some other name. Whoever traverses the continent must
easily observe those strong differences, which will grow more evident in time. The inhabitants of Canada,
Massachusetts, the middle provinces, the southern ones will be as different as their climates; their only points
of unity will be those of religion and language.

As I have endeavoured to shew you how Europeans become Americans; it may not be disagreeable to
shew you likewise how the various Christian sects introduced, wear out, and how religious indifference
becomes prevalent. When any considerable number of a particular sect happen to dwell contiguous to each
other, they immediately erect a temple, and there worship the Divinity agreeably to their own peculiar ideas.
Nobody disturbs them. If any new sect springs up in Europe, it may happen that many of its professors will
come and settle in America. As they bring their zeal with them, they are at liberty to make proselytes if they

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can, and to build a meeting and to follow the dictates of their consciences; for neither the government nor
any other power interferes. If they are peaceable subjects, and are industrious, what is it to their neighbours
how and in what manner they think fit to address their prayers to the Supreme Being? But if the sectaries are
not settled close together, if they are mixed with other denominations, their zeal will cool for want of fuel,
and will be extinguished in a little time. Then the Americans become as to religion, what they are as to
country, allied to all. In them the name of Englishman, Frenchman, and European is lost, and in like manner,
the strict modes of Christianity as practised in Europe are lost also. This effect will extend itself still farther
hereafter, and though this may appear to you as a strange idea, yet it is a very true one. I shall be able
perhaps hereafter to explain myself better, in the meanwhile, let the following example serve as my first
justification.

Let us suppose you and I to be travelling; we observe that in this house, to the right, lives a Catholic, who
prays to God as he has been taught, and believes in transubstantion; he works and raises wheat, he has a
large family of children, all hale and robust; his belief, his prayers offend nobody. About one mile farther on
the same road, his next neighbour may be a good honest plodding German Lutheran, who addresses himself
to the same God, the God of all, agreeably to the modes he has been educated in, and believes in
consubstantiation; by so doing he scandalizes nobody; he also works in his fields, embellishes the earth,
clears swamps, &c. What has the world to do with his Lutheran principles? He persecutes nobody, and
nobody persecutes him, he visits his neighbours, and his neighbours visit him. Next to him lives a seceder,
the most enthusiastic of all sectaries; his zeal is hot and fiery, but separated as he is from others of the same
complexion, he has no congregation of his own to resort to, where he might cabal and mingle religious pride
with worldly obstinacy. He likewise raises good crops, his house is handsomely painted, his orchard is one
of the fairest in the neighbourhood. How does it concern the welfare of the country, or of the province at
large, what this man’s religious sentiments are, or really whether he has any at all? He is a good farmer, he is
a sober, peaceable, good citizen: William Penn himself would not wish for more. This is the visible
character, the invisible one is only guessed at, and is nobody’s business. Next again lives a Low Dutchman,
who implicitly believes the rules laid down by the synod of Dort. He conceives no other idea of a clergyman
than that of an hired man; if he does his work well he will pay him the stipulated sum; if not he will dismiss
him, and do without his sermons, and let his church be shut up for years. But notwithstanding this coarse
idea, you will find his house and farm to be the neatest in all the country; and you will judge by his waggon
and fat horses, that he thinks more of the affairs of this world than of those of the next. He is sober and
laborious, therefore he is all he ought to be as to the affairs of this life; as for those of the next, he must trust
to the great Creator. Each of these people instruct their children as well as they can, but these instructions
are feeble compared to those which are given to the youth of the poorest class in Europe. Their children will
therefore grow up less zealous and more indifferent in matters of religion than their parents. The foolish
vanity, or rather the fury of making Proselytes, is unknown here; they have no time. the seasons call for all
their attention, and thus in a few years, this mixed neighbourhood will exhibit a strange religious medley, that
will be neither pure Catholicism nor pure Calvinism. A very perceptible indifference even in the first
generation, will become apparent; and it may happen that the daughter of the Catholic will marry the son of
the seceder, and settle by themselves at a distance from their parents. What religious education will they give
their children? A very imperfect one. If there happens to be in the neighbourhood any place of worship, we
will suppose a Quaker’s meeting; rather than not shew their fine clothes, they will go to it, and some of them
may perhaps attach themselves to that society. Others will remain in a perfect state of indifference; the
children of these zealous parents will not be able to tell what their religious principles are, and their

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grandchildren still less. The neighborhood of a place of worship generally leads them to it, and the action of
going thither, is the strongest evidence they can give of their attachment to any sect. The Quakers are the
only people who retain a fondness for their own mode of worship; for be they ever so far separated from
each other, they hold a sort of communion with the society, and seldom depart from its rules, at least in this
country.

Thus all sects are mixed as well as all nations; thus religious indifference is imperceptibly disseminated from
one end of the continent to the other; which is at present one of the strongest characteristics of the
Americans. Where this will reach no one can tell, perhaps it may leave a vacuum fit to receive other
systems. Persecution, religious pride, the love of contradiction, are the food of what the world commonly
calls religion. These motives have ceased here: zeal in Europe is confined; here it evaporates in the great
distance it has to travel; there it is a grain of powder inclosed, here it burns away in the open air, and
consumes without effect.

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