For generations, America has been regarded as the Land of Opportunity.
Our Declaration of Independence recognizes our rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” While the Declaration doesn’t guarantee a good life, those rights give people the freedom to shape their own destiny. They create space to innovate, build, and work hard to improve our own lives and the lives of others.
Unlike other countries where the government plays a much larger role in directing people’s lives, America’s founders envisioned a nation where individuals would control their own destiny.
Is America still the Land of Opportunity? It is more difficult for us to pursue happiness, purpose, and the lives we want when:
- Costs are high
- Barriers stand in the way of work and entrepreneurship
- Government limits our personal choices
Government should clear the path, not control the journey. America will remain the Land of Opportunity if people are free to build, work, save, innovate, and pursue happiness on their own terms.
Here are three ways America can remain the Land of Opportunity.
1. Make life more affordable
Do you feel like it’s harder than ever to pay your bills and save for the future?
Opportunity — the chance to build a better life — depends in part on our ability to afford necessities like groceries, gas, housing, health care, and energy. When everyday items cost more, families have less room to save or pursue long-term goals.
It’s harder to buy a house, help your child go to college, or save for retirement.
Big government drives higher costs. Washington can make life more affordable by:
- Unleashing energy abundance
- Cutting red tape that keeps prices high
- Stopping efforts that restrict housing supply
- Budgeting responsibly
- Supporting the flexible workforce of tomorrow
- Reducing rising trade costs
Inflation doesn’t have to be the norm. When government gets out of the way and spends less, families can keep more of what they earn and face fewer government-driven costs.
2. Remove barriers to working, building, and growing
The idea of the United States as the Land of Opportunity sends a powerful message: Life is yours for the taking.
You have the chance to work, build, and grow something meaningful.
This idea drives entrepreneurship, personal agency, and ingenuity.
In fact, America became the Land of Opportunity because it was known as a place where people born with little had the chance to use their talents to build something better for themselves and their families.
That magic doesn’t happen automatically, though. It happens when barriers to innovation and entrepreneurship are low.
Preserving America’s reputation as the Land of Opportunity means policymakers must cut red tape for small businesses and individual workers.
It also means they let people choose how they want to work rather than forcing them into an employer-employee construct that doesn’t fit their needs.
For most of history, governments managed entrepreneurship through licenses, guilds, and royal approval. If you wanted to build something new, you had to ask permission. America did something different: It said you don’t need permission to pursue a better life.
Is America the Land of Opportunity? It will be if we continue to send this message to Washington: Let us choose how to pursue our own destiny.
3. Washington keeps choosing control over choice
For Americans, the promise of the Declaration is about more than how we earn a living.
The United States remains the Land of Opportunity when we are free to:
- Choose the right school for our children
- See the health care provider that we trust and connect with
- Keep the lights on in our homes and businesses without going into debt
- Build a home in a neighborhood where we want to live
Top-down policies, government mandates, legislation that favors some industries and people over others, and large and growing budget deficits impede our ability to make the choices we know are best for our families.
The Declaration of Independence established a framework for limited government — and, with it, the conditions that helped the United States become the world’s leading innovator.
How do we preserve it?
We speak up and renew the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.
The Land of Opportunity isn’t gone for the next generation
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Our work today is to make sure government doesn’t stand in the way of our ability to build better lives for ourselves and others.
America will continue to be the Land of Opportunity when:
- Life is more affordable
- People are free to try new ideas, experiment, and solve problems without waiting for government permission
- We can choose the health care, education, energy, and work options that are right for us
The United States can remain the Land of Opportunity for the next generation, but only if we protect the freedom that makes opportunity possible.
Want to learn more about how America can remain the Land of Opportunity? Check out these resources, or sign up to get involved in your community.
