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Strong Floor, No Ceiling
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Strong Floor, No Ceiling

Building a New Foundation for the American Dream

Oliver Libby
Advantage Media Group, 2025
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Editorial Rating

9

getAbstract Rating

  • Analytical
  • Visionary
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

America faces fractured institutions, rising distrust, and systems that no longer deliver opportunity for most people. In this engaging read, Oliver B. Libby lays out a clear-eyed but hopeful framework for rebuilding the American Dream through reforms in health care, education, housing, infrastructure, and justice and an unapologetic commitment to innovation, entrepreneurship, and growth. His practical, bipartisan solutions to restore trust in markets, government, and civic life demonstrate how regulation, incentives, and shared responsibility can bolster and complement one another.

Summary

America must embrace shared service, restore trust in information-sharing systems, and fix how it chooses its leaders.

America has lost the kinds of collective experiences that build empathy and social trust. Without a common, inspiring challenge — like the Apollo space mission — or sacrifice — such as service in World War II — people retreat into isolated groups. A possible solution could be a year of national service that every citizen completes after finishing high school. The kinds of shared experiences that would occur under such an arrangement would help build common ground among citizens of all backgrounds and viewpoints. Those serving could support the military in non-combat roles, teach in under-resourced schools, participate in programs like the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps, work in local government, or help rebuild infrastructure. Serving together on meaningful projects would nurture a sense of mutual cooperation, civic pride, and belonging that our fractured society currently lacks.

Another foundational element of a renewed American Dream is repairing the nation’s information-sharing system. Today, trust in shared...

About the Author

Oliver Libby is a civic entrepreneur, business owner, investor, philanthropist, and policy advocate, committed to building solutions at the intersection of innovation and impact.

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