where did it go?

I came to this country 35 years ago and unfortunatetly is going through the same crisis that mine was going through when i lived there. 35 years ago you could pump the gas first then pay. Now you got to be careful not to be robbed on the way to pay for your gas. I got some ideas and comments to make about all this but i need people's feelings in respect of what happened. What really happened to the American dream.