A solid work ethic can help stimulate creativity. Work ethic does not entail laboring for long hours in deplorable working conditions. A healthy work ethic means that Americans work hard because they love what they do and take pride in it. Warshauer shows how the "get rich quick" ideal has permeated American society, replacing what was once a healthy work ethic with an unhealthy arrogance. Liu also refers to what he has perceived to be a "culture of entitlement" in which individuals feel they deserve to be rich without having to work. The American Dream was never about winning the lottery. Rather, it was about being duly rewarded for hard work. The fact that hard work can be fulfilling has been lost on the current generation, which idolizes wealth but not the creative energy needed to create and sustain it.

The new economy is changing the American Dream. Creativity and...
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