 Overall, each additional level of education an individual achieves whether it be a high school, college, graduate, or professional degree can add greatly to income levels.On the other hand, there are reports that disagree with the idea that individuals can work hard, obtain an education and succeed because there is the notion that America is actually getting poorer and actually more likely to stay poor as compared to any other western country.Some claim that the idea of the “American Dream” is starting to fade since the middle-class family income has remained constant since 1973.