The Great American Dream.

Recently, New York City issued extra taxi licences to alleviate the lack of yellow cabs, for it seemed waiting more than 30 seconds for a taxi, was starting to irritate many New Yorkers. So for the first time in 5 years, the city decided to give the best entry level job available, help by offering to increase the number of cabbies allowed on the streets. A New York cab was always seen as the "great American dream", where opportunities blossomed on the streets of Broadway and Madison Avenue via the people transported, the conversations had, the connections made and the eventual outcome of self employment and future fame. From Larry David, David Mamet, Danny Glover, Jimmy Smits and Paul Stanley from KISS, who drove cabs for a living, the yellow beasts have always been the entry level for immigrants and lower socio economic groups, hell bent on making it, because if they can make it here, they can make it anywhere.

The entrepreneurial spirit burns bright in the "Big Apple", as long as opportunities like driving a cab stay accessible. So it came as a surprise to many when the 200 licences were auctioned off for over $200,000,000, making them totally unattainable, for all but a few wealthy business people. For many social commentators and economic pundits, this heralded the end of the "great American dream", a dream based on the ability to start at the very bottom, with nothing, and rise to the top. For the cab drivers that meant, eventually owning the licence and becoming their own boss. Today it's about an exclusive club at the top and no ability to advance from the bottom.

Ten years ago, licences attracted all comers at $300,000, whereas this year some licences went for over $2,000,000 and the pool of investors did not include anyone invited to the United States as an immigrant, refugee or even locals pooling their dollars and looking to make something of themselves. So is this the end, is this where opportunities go to die, with greed preventing the entry level labour market from getting a foot in the door? Has big business finally won, have they crushed the desire to achieve, have they battered into submission the spirit of can do by eliminating another job for the common man?

Not if you ask the "man on the street" in any city in the US, the answer is most often No, with an exclamation mark. For if there is anything indomitable in the spirit of the citizens of the United States, it's the belief that no matter where you start from, no matter where you come from and no matter what obstacles lie in your way, the belief that anyone can rise to the top remains a core fundamental of their psyche.

We may dismiss the jingoistic patriotism and dogged enthusiasm living in the "lucky country" but as a general observation we haven't had the same desire to reach the top no matter what, for a long time. No wonder, with Credit Suisse reporting Australia as the second richest nation per capita wealth, our unemployment close to zero ( remembering 5% as zero according to economic theory), the dollar still in good shape, twenty two years of consecutive economic growth, miners now in production mode, meaning they'll get paid, the long weekend and "sickies" remaining as expectations and all accountability for any mishaps the responsibility of the government or someone other than ourselves. The above is a "Boomer" legacy and the following generations, especially "Ys" will encounter greater challenges so maybe the spirit of the great explorers, the man on the land getting by with bailing wire and know how, along with punching above our weight in bringing great innovation to the world will come to the fore again. I read with interest that taxi licenses in Victoria may soon cost as little as $35,000, now that's entry level for anyone wanting to make something of themselves.