If home ownership is the American dream, you can bet that a lot of people are having nightmares these days.

According to a new report by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, property values in the state have increased drastically over the last year. This is the latest occurrence in a national trend of living-cost increases that have come unaccompanied by sufficient economic gains. Personal incomes have not grown to match personal expenses and, as a result, Americans are working harder than ever for less than ever.

Nearly every American claims to be middle class, but as the disparity between rich and poor continues to expand, said class is quickly becoming little more than a myth. In an economy where Applebee's has replaced the Mom & Pop restaurant, it's no surprise that every economic gain goes straight to the wealthy, bypassing the majority of Americans.

Manufacturing jobs and independent businesses seem to be disappearing faster than ever, leaving people to work in low-paying service jobs. The restructuring of corporate hierarchies has minimized compensation for the many at the bottom while maximizing profits for the few on top, but has anyone even noticed? The recognition of Americans in economic peril should not require a series of corporate scandals or a hurricane.

Americans earning the federal minimum wage have fallen behind the U.S. median income by a record percentage, according to CBS "Marketwatch". It is an atrocity that the richest nation on earth cannot guarantee its citizens a wage sufficient to simply buy bread or pay the rent.

Even the most adamant proponents of a free market economy must have some sympathy for full-time workers unable to make ends meet. Those living from meal to meal are hardly calling for socialism, but simply a little help to get out of the vicious cycle that is exclusion from economic prosperity. My apologies to Adam Smith, but many people are sick of waiting for the invisible hand to reach out to them.

Considering the common use of terms like "free ride" and "hand-out'" to reference governmental economic intervention — an unacceptable concept in the U.S. culture of self-reliance — it seems that Americans have historically been unwilling to employ their government as a charitable arm. However, while they were never afforded the same social nets and protections as many of their western counterparts, there was a time when people in the United States found some security in the jobs provided by their economy. Now, as Americans are disregarded by a private sector to which they had faithfully surrendered everything, the fates of many people are simply out of their control.

Regardless of one's beliefs about its role in providing economic equality, there can surely be agreement that the government is at least responsible for ensuring an equal playing field. In an age where streamlining, downsizing and outsourcing have put the U.S. labor market in crisis, the idea of rewarding the richest Americans with tax cuts is ludicrous. Nobody expects the government to alleviate all their economic woes, but some are beginning to wonder whether the issue is even being addressed.

These are trying times for the U.S. economy. As the wealth gap increases and confidence in the job market decreases, Americans are desperate for help. It is the government's duty to ensure that the major beneficiaries in the American economy share responsibility for the economic conditions that they have helped create. And these beneficiaries — chiefly major corporations — must realize that it is in their interest to do so, because when people cannot afford a place to live, they become restless.

Rob Rossmeissl ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science.