Income

American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, which was first coined by James Truslow Adams in the 20 th century, meaning everyone should have the opportunity to reach what s/he desires according to his/her abilities and attempts. Although the concept of American Dream existed from the beginning days of the establishment of the United States, it has undergone significant changes throughout the country’s history. This study investigates the effect of the financialization of the economy (the increase of the importance and the size of the financial sector relative to the entire economy) in the 21 st century on the three key elements of the American Dream—homeownership, employment, and income—from George Bush’s presidency in 2001 to the end of Barack Obama's presidency in 2016. The theoretical framework of the study is the American Dream Theory and the financialization of capitalization, and its methodology consists of a qualitative historical analysis. The result of the study indicate that financialization of the economy in the 21 st century caused the American Dream to become more financialized: while presidents Bush and Obama promised to realize American Dream for all Americans, in practice, their administration policies were more in the interest of financial institutions and the rich, rather than low and middle-class Americans.

INTRODUCTION: The present study was conducted in order to compare the organizational indicators of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) with other National Societies. To this end, the number of volunteers, income and costs of the IRCS were compared with other National Societies in Africa, America, Asia, Europe, Central Asia, and Middle East & North Africa (MENA). METHODS: In this descriptive-comparative study, data were collected from the data bank and online reporting system of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Finally, data were analyzed in Excel- 2016 and SPSS -24 software. FINDINGS: Based on the findings, from 2016 to 2020, compared to other National Societies, the average of IRCS volunteers has always been higher. The income of the IRCS is higher compared to that of National Societies in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and MENA and lower compared to the National Societies in America, Europe, and Central Asia. In terms of cost, IRCS incurred higher costs than African and MENA National Societies and lower costs compared to National Societies of America, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and Central Asia. CONCLUSION: According to the results, it can be concluded that although the income and costs of the IRCS are lower compared to most of the National Societies, the number of volunteers is more, which shows the human capital of IRCS and is necessary to use this potential appropriately.