The notion of the American Dream was invented by the founders of the United States and was initially captured by language in the Declaration of Independence. Everyone deserves the opportunity to pursue happiness and economic prosperity and the government should protect🎀 the right of every citizen to achieve their ♍highest aspirations and goals.
Key Takeaways
- The country should offer equal opportunity to everyone regardless of their social or economic standing, according to the founders of the United States.
- This concept has made the country a destination for immigrants from around the world.
- The U.S. has more immigrants than any other country.
- The contributions of immigrants have bolstered the economy and they've sometimes helped to transform the American economy completely.
- America's reputation as a global leader in technology innovation is due in large part to a history of opening its borders to people from other countries.
The Founders' Dream
The founders of America united the 13 colon꧂ies and led the War of Independence from Britain. They later built the framework of governmeಞnt for the newly independent colonies on republican principles.
These republican principles first conceived by the earliest leaders of the U.S. still influence the U.S. economy. They protect a system of free enterprise or a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:free market. A syst🌱em in which business activities are regulated through private measures and the market🍬 rather than the government determines prices, products, and services is said to encourage entrepreneurship and an open society.
These early leaders believed that the most prosperous country in the world would offer equal opportunity to everyone regardless of their social or economic standing. This has made the U.S. a destination for immigrants from around the world who wan🎶t to be able to pursue a career outside their family profession and escape any legal restrictions based on their religion, gender, or social status.
Immigrants Co💦ntribute Greatly to th🌄e U.S. Economy
Some U.S. citizens still face discrimination based on skin color, religion, sexual orientation, and gender but their right to pursue education and employment is protected by the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. has more immigrants than any other country in the world. A record 51.4 million people living in the U.S. in February 2024 were born in another country. These immigrants have left an indelible mark on the country through their coꦫntributions in the areas of art, business, and culture.
46%
The percentage of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Fortune 500 companies that were founded by immigrants or their children as of 2024 was 46%. They employed more than 15.5 million people worldwide.
According to the U.S. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 18.6% of the total civilian labor force were foreign-born in 2023.
Research from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reveals the extent to which immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy. They make up more than a third of the workforce in some industries. Many immigrants are geographically mobile and this enables them to respond to worker shortages in local economies.
Immigrants support the aging native-born population, increasing the number of workers as compared to retirees. They also bolster Social Security and Medicare trust funds. Children born to immigrant families are upwardly mobile and this is beneficial to the future U.S. economy overall.
Many of the millions of immigrants who have been drawn to the U.S. have left countries with crumbling political systems and brutal regimes. Their choices and opportunities were limited. Their contributions have bolstered the economy and they've sometimes helped transform the American economy completely, especially in the case of the technology industry.
Innovation in the U.S. Economy
The strength of the U.S. economy is dependent on its ability to evolve in response to technology. America's reputation as a global leader in technology innovation is due in large part to a history of opening its borders to people from other countries. Google, Yahoo, eBay, Qualcomm, VMware, and Facebook were all founded by first or second-generation i♉mmigrants.
The National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) released a report in October 2018 with findings that 55% of America's 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:startup companies valued at $1 billion or more were started by immigrants. Immigrants also hold critical roles in product development or management in over 80% of the 91 companies studied. The research revealed that the billion-dollar startup companies founded by immigrants have created an average of more than 1,200 jobs per company in the U.S.
Examples of successful startups founded by immigrants in the technology sector include Google co-founder Sergey Brin, named by Forbes as the richest immigrant in America. Brin moved to the U.S. from Russia when he was six years old.
Taiwan-born Jensen Huang co-founded computer gaming chip maker 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) in 1993 and serves as the company's chief executive officer and president.
Qualcomm (QCOM) cofounder Andrew Viterbi fled Italy and Benito Mussolini's fascist regime with his family and immigrated to the United States in 1938.
Important
The American Dream protects every American's right to achieve their highest economic potential but the protections granted to U.S. citizens in the Constitution at the nation's founding only extended to White property owners.
The U.S. would not be in a position of global dominanc🌺e without the streams of talented, ambitious people entering the U.S. every year because of the promise of opportunity.
Many economists and policymakers pointed out that immigrants are crucial for the nation's future economic growth in response to policies introduced by President Trump's administration during his first term. They aimed to restrict the number of immigrants to the U.S. President Trump issued 10 executive orders and proclamations regarding U.S. immigration policy on his second day in office during his second term. The majority of these addressed border-crossers.
, associate professor of journalism at New York University and the author of This Land is Our Land: An Immigrant's Manifesto has said, "America has succeeded, and a𝔉chieved its present position of global dominance because it has always been good at importing the talent it needs."
What Is a Free Market?
A free market is an economi𝔉c system that operates unencumbered by factors such as tariffs and quotaജs. Governmental regulation is minimal.
What Are the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds?
The trust funds are held in special accounts in the U.S. Treasury. They hold the Social Security and Medicare tax dollars that are paid into the system by taxpayers. A portion of this money is then paid out to current beneficiaries but the accounts aren't depleted annually. They also maintain and save funds for those who will collect Social Security and Medicare in the future.
What Is a Startup Company?
A startup company is a company that's just recently been launched and is in the early stages of development just as the name suggests. Starting a company is typically a cash-intensive undertaking and these firms often seek funding from outside sources. Many fail within the first few years but others become immensely profitable.
The Bottom Line
The United States founders' dream of creating the most prosperous country in the world has come to fruition. Everyone who lives in the U.S. has the right to improve their life and this in turn increases their contributions to national economic growth.
The country has had vast quantities of land and an abundance of natural resources since its beginning. Neighboring countries have never threatened the expansion of the American economy. These conditions and the promise of the American Dream have attracted millions of people from all around the world who have ultimately given the U.S. economy its competitive advantage.