The American Dream is the dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone. Opportunity should abound for each according to their ability and willingness to work. It should not be constrained by humble beginnings, race, or gender. Many are living that dream today but many others are discouraged and losing hope. Lifting up the poor, rebuilding our middle class, and restoring the American Dream are among the great challenges of our time. History has shown us the road forward.

California is proof that big government favors the politically well-connected over the working class and other vulnerable groups. Yes, it's true that we have the 5th largest economy in the world. But it's also true that we have the 3rd highest cost of living in the nation and rank 48th in economic freedom. Low- and middle-income families are being robbed by the rising cost of goods and services under California's bloated government. The annual cost of health insurance for a 27-year-old here has risen $2,700 since Obamacare was implemented. We pay $1.00 a gallon more than the national average for gas, $35 a month more for food, and $365 a month more for housing. The wealthy are free to continue investing and building wealth because they barely feel these higher costs. The nearly 40% of Californians that live in or close to poverty struggle from paycheck to paycheck. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer when government grows and starts picking winners and losers.

More consequences of our bloated government are clear for all to see. California ranks 1st in poverty, 1st in the number of people on welfare, 1st in the number of people that are homeless, and 4th in income inequality. Our prosperity is enjoyed by far too few.

The countries with the least economic freedom are the countries people are trying to escape from. The countries with the most economic freedom have the most prosperity. They have the best income and wealth equality, the best gender equality, and the best racial equality. These are also the countries where people like Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs produced some of the great advancements of modern time.

The increased prosperity that flows from free market capitalism gives families the opportunity to build wealth, buy a first-class education for their children, and save for retirement. The world has witnessed our success. The great influx of both legal and illegal immigrants is proof of that. Many risked everything including their lives — and they didn't come for socialism or a free handout. They came for the opportunity to work and build a better life in a country with more economic freedom than their own.

America's economic freedom ranking improved from 18th to 12th in the last two years. All groups have benefitted from that but none more than Blacks and Latinos. Our Founding Fathers understood the value of limited government, liberty, and economic freedom. These are the principles that fostered the innovation and entrepreneurship that built the largest and strongest middle class in the world.

Restoring the American Dream doesn't require ever higher taxes and government-forced redistribution of wealth. We just need to remember where we came from.

— Lloyd Leighton, Yuba City, CA