I’ll take a stab at it to generate a starting point…
Post highschool, either an affordable college degree or trade school for those who want to pursue one. Ymmv on how much of a pay bump certain degrees give you (separate argument).
For those directly entering the workforce, a full time job should be enough to cover rent or mortgage for 1.5 people on top of general living expenses for the area, plus an additional 10 percent (spitballing)minimum for savings/other personal expenses. 1.5 as some people have dependants they may be caring for.
A person should have free time separate from work sufficient to pursue a hobby, and some expectation of privacy to do so without immediate judgement.
A person should not need or be convinced to fear their neighbors.
A person should not have a major crisis of food, housing, safety, or employment.
A community should support the people within.
Home ownership should be a reasonable 5-year goal for the majority of the population.
A person should be able to maintain a standard of living regardless of any crisis, disability, or crestfall. Additionally, people who are not productive should not be seen as a burden to a community at any scale.
Mental health and other social safety nets should be readily available to those who need them, and should be able to provide needed resources within a reasonable time frame.
Nothing in this list should put any undue stress or burden on any specific individual or group.
Let’s take a moment to define what the American dream is. Then, let’s start seeing how much of it the average citizen can achieve.
I’ll take a stab at it to generate a starting point… Post highschool, either an affordable college degree or trade school for those who want to pursue one. Ymmv on how much of a pay bump certain degrees give you (separate argument).
For those directly entering the workforce, a full time job should be enough to cover rent or mortgage for 1.5 people on top of general living expenses for the area, plus an additional 10 percent (spitballing)minimum for savings/other personal expenses. 1.5 as some people have dependants they may be caring for.
A person should have free time separate from work sufficient to pursue a hobby, and some expectation of privacy to do so without immediate judgement.
A person should not need or be convinced to fear their neighbors.
A person should not have a major crisis of food, housing, safety, or employment.
A community should support the people within.
Home ownership should be a reasonable 5-year goal for the majority of the population.
A person should be able to maintain a standard of living regardless of any crisis, disability, or crestfall. Additionally, people who are not productive should not be seen as a burden to a community at any scale.
Mental health and other social safety nets should be readily available to those who need them, and should be able to provide needed resources within a reasonable time frame.
Nothing in this list should put any undue stress or burden on any specific individual or group.
That’s a thoughtful list. A lot of that has never existed in the USA and the remainder has been diminishing for the past 50 years.