The documentary from the PBS and Frontline with the title Two American families, is presenting the ordinary and middle income families over the time period of 22 years. The documentary was released in the year 2013. The documentary wanted to present the reality of the American dreams to have a family, own a house and have a steady income with the possibility of retirement at older age. The efforts of two American families the Nuemanns and the Stanleys to succeed in two decades despite the hard work did not work out. It shows that despite the race all middle income families in the states are facing immense troubles to lead a decent life. Both families were facing immense economic issues with unemployment, lack of opportunities and low paid jobs without the benefits.
In the background one can see the chaining economy in the United States that is resulting in the disappearance of the middle class. The disappearance of the middle class has resulted in ever more people living in poverty or on the brink of it, which gives their children fewer possibilities of getting the appropriate education and therefore the sufficient paid job, which would guarantee decent living. The stagnation of the economy and worsening the economic situation of the majority of the Americans is resulting in the financial insecure future for the majority of the middle class society. The workers without a college degree and specialized skills in the light of the technological development have fewer or no opportunities to get a job. The documentary presented a personal perspective on which one can observe the two American lifestyles and two different Americas, where on one side the majority of the middle class and lower class are getting poorer and the minority of the population is getting richer. The middle class has been confronted with the low wage jobs and salaries without or little benefits despite the growth of the economy. The political control with the presidents changing is showing the increase of the economy from the recession that was prevalent in the 70 ties where manufacturing jobs began to disappear. The manufacturing industry was moving towards the cheaper labor, which is a common for freer trade and economic step in the industry which is moving from the developed to the developing countries. It has been shown that the middle class was suffering in the recession because of the lack of job opportunities and also after the recession because of the debt and because of very low wages that were insufficient to take care for a family and possibility to own a house. The documentary can give an insight in the polarized debated about the disappearing of the middle class in the country. Both of the families are without the higher education, except for their children. The reason for their economic troubles can be searched in the personal actions and also in the global economy. The labor market is becoming very competitive and low skilled jobs are not in the abundance and are low paid. The middle class had until the 1970 recession lived a comfortable life and after that the economic situation did not improve. Changes in the family income inequality began in the year 1970s with the recession and followed in the 90s with the available credits and loans which were impossible to pay off with the stagnating wages for low skilled work, which resulted in numerous foreclosures.
The documentary shows that everyone who works hard cannot have a good life for both family members have worked more than one shift and were unable to pay off their debts and were struggling from one month to another. Despite hard work the families have barely survived at the time of recession as in the times of growing economy. The American dream is being questioned, since the middle class is one of the examples that the dream can be reached only by the rich with higher incomes. It can be connected with the fact that the wealth and money income gap are widening in the country and are the core of inequalities among the citizens. After the great recession the wealth and income gap in the United States has reached alarming rates. The situation of changing the labor market and less progressive taxes has resulted in the wealth inequality which affected the middle class the most. The stagnation of wages has made impossible to get money aside and got many into debt. The social issues are correlated with the rising inequality. The wealth inequality is shown in the fact that one percent of the richest possess almost the majority of the nation’s wealth, which means that one percent owns more than the bottom 90 percent.
The documentary is showing the real picture of the biggest class in the country the middle class that has been disappearing since the 1970s onward and where the majority of the population is confronted with the severe economic issues, which have a nationwide impact. The documentary presents the changing nature of the national economy on the cases of two families and raises various questions about the economic system that is enabling the middle class despite the hard work to survive without major economic issues. The wealth and income inequality, with fewer employment possibilities for low educated labor without special skills is the economic reality where capitalist system works on the competition and is not specifically focused on the well-being of individuals but rather on the profits.
Work cited
Two American Families. PBS and Frontline, 2013. Film.
