American Dreams (22 page)

The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. To find the corresponding locations in the text of this digital version, please use the “search” function on your e-reader. Note that not all terms may be searchable.

Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), 10, 25, 27, 35, 63, 118–23, 133, 149, 150

and loss of insurance plans, 122, 149

risk corridors in, 121–22

Altius, 102

American Academy of Actuaries, 122

American Enterprise Institute, xviii, 7, 74, 102, 171

American Son, An
(Rubio), 94

Average Is Over
(Cowen), 12–13

Biden, Joe, 110

Biggs, Andrew, 143

BMW, 100

Bowie, David, 96

Braman Automotive Training Center, 72–73

Brookings Institution, 158

Brooks, Arthur, 74

Broyles, Daniel and Becky, 26–28, 118, 136–37

Brynjolfsson, Erik, 33–34

Bush, George W., 145

Canada, Geoffrey, 64–65

car ownership, 87

Carter, Jimmy, xiv, 110

Cass, Oren, 60

Caterpillar, 100

cell phones, 42–43

children, 156–57, 171

Harlem Children's Zone, 64–65

Miami Children's Initiative, 65

of single parents, 125–26, 157–58, 161–63, 167, 171, 173

Take Stock in Children, 159–61

tax credits for, 70, 71, 115–17, 126, 168

Chili's, 18

Clinton, Hillary, xvii, 3, 152

college(s), xii, xiv, 5, 6, 46, 77–107

accreditation of, 102–5

costs of, 80–81, 125, 127–28

monopoly power of, 101–5, 128

older students in, 99

student debt and, 81–89, 91–95, 101, 104, 107

student investment contracts and, 96–98

Student Right to Know Before You Go Act and, 92, 95

unemployed graduates of, 90

wages and, 78–79, 81, 82

competition, 9

regulations and, 22, 23, 34–36

Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 8, 17, 18, 46, 121, 149, 151

conservatives, conservatism, xiii, xvi, xvii–xix, xxi, 5, 51, 62, 144

family and, 16–17

wages and, 18

see also
Republicans

Coons, Chris, 38

Coursera, 103

Cowen, Tyler, 12–13

crony capitalism, 23–26, 35–36, 123

Cuomo, Andrew, 67

D.C. Opportunity Scholarship, 110–11

de Blasio, Bill, 14–15

debt, 84

student loan, 81–89, 91–95, 101, 104, 107

Democrats, 9, 17, 147, 153

see also
liberals, liberalism

Depression, Great, 141, 164

Doar, Robert, 68–69, 166

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), 69–71, 163, 166–67

earned success, 74

Eberstadt, Nicholas, 7

economic security, xix, 109–29

economy, xiv, 5, 8, 10

free-enterprise, 28

global, 11, 29

recession in, 6, 59, 77, 80, 134

as zero-sum game, 144

education and schools, xii, xv, xvi, xvii, xix, 3, 13–17, 19, 33–34, 57, 58, 72

charter schools, 14–15

college,
see
college

liberal education, 90–91

New Orleans schools, 126–27

online education, 102–4, 125, 127–28

parents pursuing education, 125–28

school choice, 110, 112, 126, 127

see also
skills

edX, 103

Einstein, Albert, 137

energy, 36–38

green, 25

research on, 38

equal opportunity, xix, 74

Evan, 88, 89, 94, 95

Facebook, 13

family, xv, xix, xx, xxi, 9, 15–17, 58, 155–74

child tax credits and, 70, 71, 115–17, 126, 168

decline of, 15, 158, 163–65, 169

taxes and, 113–17

upward mobility and, 158–59

see also
marriage

Flex Fund, 64–68, 71, 167

Florida International University, 21

food bank, 53–57

food stamps, 67

Foreign Accents, 26–28

fracking, 36

free-enterprise economy, 28

Friedman, Milton, 96

García, Pedro Víctor, ix–x, xi

gas, natural, 36, 37–38

gay rights, 169–70

General Electric (GE), 30, 99

globalization, 11, 12, 29, 58

Google, 100, 105

government:

limited, 9

regulations by,
see
regulations

safety net provided by, 3

government, big, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 19

big business and, 22–23, 25

central messages of, 17

Great Depression, 141, 164

gross domestic product, 8

Groundhog Day,
91

Gutierrez-Abety, Cecilia, 65

Hall, Keith, 58

Harlem Children's Zone, 64–65

health care, xiv, 3, 17, 123–25, 132–33, 150–51

Affordable Care Act,
see
Affordable Care Act

Medicaid, 67, 68, 124

Medicare, 24–25, 114, 131–36, 148–52

Medi-Share, 27

tax credit and, 123–24

three-tiered system of, 120

Health Savings Account (HSA), 124

Heat and Eat, 67

Herr, John, xvi

Hobart Institute of Welding Technology, 100

Holtz-Eakin, Douglas, 46

home ownership, 87

homosexuality, 169–70

housing, 60

Hurricane Katrina, 126–27

immigration, 44–51

family-based, 45, 49

illegal, 45, 47–50

merit-based, 46–47, 49

incentives, 62–63, 166

income, 5–6, 109

inequality in, 6, 10, 15, 17, 53, 144, 163

median, 6, 7, 109, 115

see also
wages

India (young woman), 155–57, 159–60

innovation, 26, 28, 33–34, 38–39, 73

Internet, 39–41

Investing in Student Success Act, 96–98

investment, 28–32

Ivy Bridge College, 102–3

Jennifer, xii–xiv

Jindal, Bobby, 126

jobs and work, xiv–xv, xvi, xvii, xx, 5, 6, 9, 16, 57, 58

automation of, 6, 12, 18

changing, during life, 138–39

creation of, 34–35, 69, 83, 86, 113, 145

decline in, 7, 8, 58

Earned Income Tax Credit and, 69–71, 166–67

equal opportunity for, xix

honoring of, 74–75

looking for, 7, 69

lost during recession, 6

Obamacare and, 121, 149

poverty and, 58, 61–63, 66, 68, 71–72

in retirement, 131, 140–45

skills for,
see
skills

unemployment, 7–9, 135

wages for,
see
wages

welfare and, 69

Johnson, Lyndon, 53, 56, 61

Jose, 1–5, 10, 19

Joyce, 132–34, 140–41

Kelly, Andrew, 102, 103

Kentucky, 66

Keystone Pipeline, 37

Kristeen, 111–13, 125–26, 128–29

Kristi, 77–78, 81–83, 85–87, 107

Laszewski, Bob, 120

law of unintended consequences, 83

Lee, Mike, 30, 105, 114–16, 168

Levin, Yuval, xviii, 47

liberals, liberalism, xiii, xiv, xvi, xix, 3, 5, 9, 10, 22, 142, 152, 171

family and, 17

see also
Democrats

Lisa, 2–5

literacy, 14

lost decade, 6

marriage, 15–16, 57–58, 68, 167, 168, 172

children born and raised outside of, 125–26, 157–58, 161–63, 167, 171, 173

decline of, 162–64, 167, 168, 172–73

defining, 168–70

Earned Income Tax Credit and, 166

first, age of, 161

gay, 169–70

poverty and, 71, 162, 164

taxes and, 166–68

see also
family

Marshall, George, xvi

math skills, 14

MC2 STEM High School, 99

McAfee, Andrew, 33–34

Medicaid, 67, 68, 124

Medicare, 24–25, 114, 131–36, 148–52

Medi-Share, 27

Miami Children's Initiative, 65

middle class, 6, 8, 9, 16, 56–57

immigration and, 44, 45

Miller, Christine, 53–57, 61–63

Mississippi, 66

Money Smart, 54–55

MOOC (massive open online course), 103–4

Morse, Edward L., 36–37

MTV, 172

Murray, Charles, 171

National Press Club, 134

National Regulatory Budget, 36

new normal, 8, 9

New Orleans, La., 126–27

Obama, Barack, xiii–xiv, xvii, 2, 3, 9–10, 26, 34, 110, 112–13, 152, 163

education and, 91, 105

immigration and, 48

on keeping insurance plans, 122

Obamacare,
see
Affordable Care Act

oil, 36, 38

opportunity inequality, 10

parents, 157

pursuing education, 125–28

single, 125–26, 157–58, 161–63, 167, 171, 173

see also
children; family; marriage

PayPal, 100

Pelosi, Nancy, 10, 145

Pew Research Center, 5–6

potential gross domestic product, 8

poverty, 16, 53–75, 79, 128, 155, 157

Flex Fund and, 64–68, 71

incentives and, 62–63, 166

marriage and, 71, 162, 164

Obamacare and, 121

regional and ethnic differences in, 59

in rural and suburban areas, 59

Wage Enhancement Credit and, 65, 68, 70–71, 164

work and, 58, 61–63, 66, 68, 71–72

Putin, Vladimir, 43–44

Reagan, Ronald, 163

recession, 6, 59, 77, 80, 134

regulations, xv, xvii, 4, 11, 19, 34–35

big business and, 23

competition and, 22, 23, 34–36

costs of, 35

taxi industry and, 22

Republicans, 8–9, 152, 153

see also
conservatives, conservatism

retirement, 6, 17, 114, 131–53

age of, 146

employer-sponsored plans for, 138–40

high-income seniors and, 147–48

job changes and, 138–39

Medicare and, 24–25, 114, 131–36, 148–52

payroll tax and, 142–44

Retirement Earnings Test, 141, 142

saving for, 131, 134–35, 137–38

Social Security and, 114, 131, 132, 134–37, 140–43, 145–48, 152

Thrift Savings Plan and, 139–40

work in, 131, 140–45

Romney, Mitt, 60, 116

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 137

Ryan, Paul, 63, 123–25, 135, 150

Salam, Reihan, 47

Sawhill, Elizabeth, 158

schools,
see
education and schools

Scott, 132–34

Second Machine Age, The
(Brynjolfsson and McAfee), 33–34

single parents, 125–26, 157–58, 161–63, 167, 171, 173

16 and Pregnant,
172

skills, xiv–xv, 6, 13–14, 19, 72, 105–6

trade schools and, 100

Small Business Administration, 35

small-business owners, 4

Social Security, 114, 131, 132, 134–37, 140–43, 145–48, 152

Soden, Brad, 23–25

Soden, Liz, 23–24

Solyndra, 25, 38

Stein, Robert, 117

stimulus bill, 26

Student Right to Know Before You Go Act, 92, 95

success, 159

earned, 74

sequence of, 15–16

Take Stock in Children, 159–61

talent, 44, 73

Tankchair, 23–24

taxes, xiv, xvii, xviii, 11, 19, 29–33, 113–17

child tax credits, 70, 71, 115–17, 126, 168

corporate rate of, 29–30

Earned Income Tax Credit, 69–71, 163, 166–67

families and, 113–17

health care and, 123–24

innovation and, 34

marriage and, 166–68

payroll, 142–44

territorial system of, 32–33

taxi industry, 22

technology, 11–13, 58

teen pregnancy, 172

Therrien, Joe, 89

Thiel, Peter, 100

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), 139–40

Tiffin University, 102

trade policies, 42–43

trade schools, 100

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, 43

Trans-Pacific Partnership, 43

transportation, 59

Uber, 21–22, 28

Udacity, 103

Ukraine, 43–44

unemployment, 7–9, 135

see also
jobs and work

United Food Bank of Plant City, 53–57

United Nations, 40

U.S. News & World Report,
104

Utah, 66

values, xv, 155–74

wages, xv, xvi, 6–7, 9, 18–19, 134–35

college degree and, 78–79, 81, 82

minimum, 17–18, 71

stagnation of, 134–35, 138

subsidies, 19

Wage Enhancement Credit, 65, 68, 70–71, 128, 164, 166–67

Warren, Elizabeth, 23, 26, 147

Washington, D.C.:

Uber in, 21, 28

wealth in, 109–11

wealth, 6, 9–10, 109–11

welders, 100

welfare, xviii

reform of, 68–69

wheelchairs, 24–25

Wilcox, Brad, 15, 162

wireless spectrum, 41–42

women, war on, 164, 173

work,
see
jobs and work

World War II, xvi, 5, 6, 11–12

Wyden, Ron, 92, 150

Yellen, Janet, 86

York, Byron, 120

Zuckerberg, Mark, 13

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