Is the American Dream Alive for Generation-X?
Posted on 06. Jan, 2010 by Apollo in Money, Politics
When you talk to members of Generation-X, one common thread that you come away with is the widely-held belief that Gen-Xers don’t have the same assurance of economic well-being that their parents – or even elder siblings – have had. This perception has often been dismissed as another symptom of an over-indulgent, self-absorbed generation who thinks they have been dealt a raw deal. However, an economic study by the Pew Charitable Trust suggests there is truth behind the perception and that in fact, Generation-Xers may be the first generation of Americans to be less well-off economically than their parents.
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In the study “Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream Alive and Well?”, the authors looked at upward mobility in American society and compared it against upward mobility in other advanced countries, and also looked at earnings power among American generations over time.
One of the most surprising findings of the study was that perhaps our views of America as the land of opportunity and upward mobility have become mistaken. It’s common to think of America as a place where anyone can work hard and get ahead – however when looking at the statistics, America actually provides less economic mobility than many other countries. How can this be?
But of course we can all see that Americans have gotten wealthier over the past decades. There has been economic growth and great fortunes have been made in America, as evidenced by the great increases in luxury goods, large homes and upscale cars over the past few decades. Surely all of this wealth creation has increased the upward mobility of Americans and meant more wealth for more people. However, the statistics show otherwise. In fact, growth in after-tax income for the wealthiest Americans has increased enormously over the past generation, while the lower classes have barely kept up with inflation – if at all.
Of particular importance to Generation-X members is the finding that men in their 30′s at the time of the study made significantly less than men in their 30′s during their father’s generation. The only reason that families as a whole have kept up is that more women are working to support the family as well. The result is that it now takes twice the amount of work – two full-time workers – to maintain the same standard of living as the previous generation had with a single worker.
These findings taken together paint a rather bleak picture for the future of the American Dream. It is very clear that the US has lost its economic way and needs to re-think how it approaches economic matters. There are differing opinions on why the American Dream is dead and who has killed it, however one thing is certainly clear: the US needs to rebuild middle-class jobs.
Manufacturing, construction, trades – a solid middle-class is the backbone of a strong economy and facilitates upward mobility. Is the answer to end outsourcing? Restrain international trade? Deregulate? These are the questions we as a country need to ask and debate.
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Read the full report: Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream Alive and Well? from the Pew Charitable Trust.
Charts are © The Pew Charitable Trust, Economic Mobility Project.
