The American Dream Is Becoming Just That—A Dream

The National Alliance to End Homelessness is posting a recent study on the economic mobility of Americans. Here’s what they have to say:

A nonpartisan group of researchers, led by Pew Charitable Trust and joined by Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute, Urban Institute, and the Heritage Foundation, gathered last week to release the findings of their latest report, "Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream Alive and Well?" This study looked at both absolute and relative economic mobility of men in their thirties. The report found that the opportunity for absolute mobility (the ability to move up or down the socioeconomic ladder in one's own lifetime) and relative mobility (movement up or down from the previous generation) is not as great as it was over thirty years ago.

Additionally, in 1974, the median income for this group was $40,000 while the median income in 2004 was $35,000 (adjusted for inflation.) The findings in this report call into question the fundamental expectation of the American dream: that each generation can do better than the one previous.

Here is a link to the study.


(Pic from www.flavorphoto.com)