The American Dream Has Been Stolen — It’s Time to Take It Back

Summary

I’m calling out how the American Dream was taken from working families—and laying out how we take it back together.

By Ricky Dana, Candidate for U.S. House – Missouri’s 4th District

The American Dream was not lost — it was stolen.

For too many families, buying a home, starting a business, and saving for the future now feels out of reach. The system has been tilted by the ultra-wealthy and the career politicians who rely on their money. That has to change.

This isn’t left versus right. It’s a simple question of fairness for working families. Big donors write the checks, and too many in Washington write the rules to match. The result? A rigged game that squeezes young people and working families while the wealthy cash in.

🔥 How the American Dream Was Taken

Decades of trickle-down promises never delivered. Wages lagged while costs—housing, health care, and groceries—shot up. Court decisions like Citizens United opened the floodgates to dark money, drowning out the voices of regular Missourians in Missouri 4 and the communities that could shift into Missouri 5.

When policy is shaped in back rooms by people who never worry about the price of a gallon of milk, families pay the price. That’s why trust is broken—and why we must rebuild it with transparent, common-sense reforms.

💪 What Taking It Back Looks Like

• End pay-to-play politics. Ban dark money, increase disclosure, and stop the revolving door in Washington.
• Put work ahead of wealth. Reward companies that create good jobs here—and stop special breaks for those that don’t.
• Lower costs families feel. Tackle junk fees, prescription drug costs, and price gouging that hits rural and small-town Missouri hardest.
• Invest in real opportunity. Strengthen local schools, job training, rural health care, and broadband so people can build a future where they live.
• Protect small farms and small businesses. Level the field against monopolies and corporate middlemen that squeeze producers and customers alike.

🌱 A Government That Works for Us

We can restore the American Dream by putting the public back in charge. That means clean elections, honest budgets, and policies that lift communities from the bottom up instead of showering the top with favors.

When working families have a fair shot, our towns grow stronger, our businesses thrive, and our kids see a future worth staying for.

I’m running to make Washington answer to you — not to the richest donors in the room.

➡️ Volunteer with Ricky Dana

Sources:

Brookings – Why Trickle-Down Economics Doesn’t Work

New York Times – Citizens United Anniversary and Its Impact

The Guardian – Tax Cuts, Billionaires, and Inequality Trends