American Dream

Based on be.com polls, readers responded passionately to questions including "What is the largest obstacle black entrepreneurs must overcome to create and sustain large businesses?" and "What barriers do you feel are preventing African Americans from fully realizing the American dream?"

While Europe's vision might play well in the blue states, your story fails to recognize that we're turning the American Dream into the American Nightmare.

AMERICAN DREAM: Lennie James as Walter Lee Younger in A Raisin in The Sun

According to Rifkin, the American Dream holds that people should be free, that everyone should have the same opportunity for success, and that the future will always be better than the present.

"Up until the 1960s," writes Rifkin, "upward mobility was at the core of the American Dream. Then, the dream began to unravel, slowly at first, but picking up momentum in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s."

"Americans are fed up with the long wait for fuel-efficient hybrid cars and now they have a chance to do something about it," said Center for a New American Dream president Betsy Taylor.

"The discussions in cities across the country and the resolutions that were passed demonstrate our willingness to work with partners at all levels of government and in the private sector to eliminate the barriers that are putting the American dream out of reach for so many.

The first-of-its-kind department store is located within the entertainment atrium at American Dream, adjacent to the DreamWorks Water Park entrance and near Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park and the property's NHL-size ice rink.

Women aged 18 to 49, for example, are significantly more likely than older women--and men in all age groups--to say that even by working hard and playing by the rules, the American dream is unattainable for them in their lifetime.

"For over 35 years, Triple Five Group has embraced the concept that retail cannot exist without entertainment and experiential elements, and American Dream will further raise the bar," said Don Ghermezian, president, American Dream.

In its annual study, personal finance company SmartAsset, uncovered the best places to live the American Dream by ranking the largest 250 cities in America.