I believe this misses the point, as does the article. The "American Dream" was never about blindly working harder on the same things in order to achieve a stat

I believe this misses the point, as does the article. The "American Dream" was never about blindly working harder on the same things in order to achieve a state where you no longer have to work. The dream is that through bettering yourself (education, skills), applying yourself to the myriad opportunities in our society (Business, religious, NGO, etc), you can find a niche in which you excel and create a better standard of living for yourself and your children.