The Price of the American Dream | Trapped in the American Dream

Video Description

The Price of the American Dream - Despite years of economic growth after the 2009 financial crisis, millions of Americans remain trapped in a silent struggle. This documentary uncovers the reality of the “working poor”—people holding multiple jobs yet barely making ends meet. While the nation celebrates job creation and recovery, nearly 47 million citizens face daily hardship, unstable wages, and rising living costs. Through personal stories and economic analysis, the film exposes the human side of America’s prosperity gap and questions what true recovery really means. The Price of the American Dream (2016) Director: Hélène Eckmann Stars / Featured People: Germania Genre: Documentary — Current Affairs / Social Issues Country (Production): France Language: English Also Known As: “The Working Poor | The Price of the American Dream” Release Date / Year: 2016 Filming Locations: United States Synopsis Since the 2009 economic crisis, over nine million jobs have been created in America. Officially, the recession is over — yet 46.7 million Americans live in poverty, about 15% of the U.S. population. Many of them aren’t unemployed; they are the working poor, often holding at least two jobs to make ends meet. The documentary introduces us to individuals such as Germania, who works two minimum-wage jobs (around 18 hours a day) and struggles to support her children and mother-in-law in a tiny motel room. Another story follows Joe and Chelsie, who live in a tent in a church carpark with their daughters, sharing a porta-potty with dozens of others. Also featured is Scott Slawson, a long-time GE worker whose job is threatened by relocation to a much lower-wage state. Through these personal stories, the film sheds light on how many Americans are contributing to the country’s “recovery” while remaining extremely vulnerable. Chapters: 00:00 – The Hidden Face of America’s Job Boom Many of the new jobs celebrated in the U.S. recovery hide a harsher reality: multiple part-time roles, unstable hours, and families living in cheap motels near Disney despite working full-time. 07:05 – Living on the Edge: Motels, Night Shifts and Survival Families navigate exhaustion, night shifts, and the impossibility of affording stable housing. Long hours, food insecurity, and constant stress define the daily rhythm of the working poor. 14:20 – The New Poor: Families Without a Home America’s “new poor” includes thousands of full-time workers raising children in motels, parking lots, or makeshift shelters. Homelessness among children has doubled since the economic downturn. 20:50 – Chasing Opportunity: The Move to Prosperous Cities People migrate to booming cities like Seattle, only to find rents so high that they end up sleeping in cars or tent camps. Children change schools, families break apart, and stability feels unattainable. 27:00 – The Collapse of the Middle Class: Factories, Unions and Outsourcing Industrial jobs vanish as companies move production to cheaper, non-union states. Lifelong workers are laid off despite decades of service, symbolizing the erosion of the American middle class. 34:30 – The War on Unions and the New Rules of Corporate America Union power collapses from one in three workers to one in ten. Corporations grow more profitable, while employees lose bargaining power, stability, and any real path back to middle-class life. 41:20 – The Forgotten Americans: After the Crisis, No Way Back Some families secure temporary housing; others fall back into tent cities. The American Dream survives for a privileged few, while millions pay the human cost of a recovery that never reached them. SUPPORT US! ✘ Membership - https://bit.ly/3q5XPBh MORE DOCS! ► Gold: https://bit.ly/2IRZ0OA ► World Economy: https://bit.ly/36QlhEM ► All Playlists: https://bit.ly/3lOiCll #finance #documentaries #economy #WorkingPoor #USEconomy #IncomeInequality COPYRIGHT: All of the films published by us are legally licensed. We have acquired the rights (at least for specific territories) from the rightholders by contract. If you have questions please send an email to: info[at]moconomy.tv, Moconomy GmbH, www.moconomy.tv.