American Dream Dying?!....These surveys paint a picture of a changing American landscape, where economic realities and shifting societal values challenge traditional beliefs in hard work and success.

 

American Dream Dying?!

(RightIsRight.co) – Underscoring the country’s increasingly bleak economic outlook under Joe Biden, the belief in the American dream, the idea that hard work leads to success, is waning among American voters, as revealed in a recent Wall Street Journal/NORC survey.

The survey, conducted in October, found that only 36% of voters still believe the American dream is a reality. This marks a significant decline from 53% in 2012 and 48% in 2016, reflecting growing skepticism about the prospects of upward mobility in the U.S. The survey, which included 1,163 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points, also discovered that half of the voters perceive life in the U.S. to be worse than it was 50 years ago. Moreover, 50% of voters agree that the economic and political systems are stacked against them, indicating a sense of systemic unfairness.

The decline in belief in the American dream is more pronounced among certain demographics. Only 28% of women, as opposed to 46% of male voters, believe the dream is still alive. Similarly, younger voters are less inclined to believe in the American dream, with only 28% affirming its existence, compared to 48% of those over the age of 65. The State of the American Family survey by MassMutual corroborates these findings. More than two in five Americans, or 42%, believe the American dream is out of reach, a sentiment that has intensified since 2018 and mirrors the attitudes during the sluggish recovery from the financial crisis and Great Recession.

The MassMutual survey highlights a shift in the definition of the American dream, with family financial security now being the top factor, overtaking previous priorities such as homeownership and not living paycheck to paycheck. Inflation under the Biden administration, which began in January 2021, has further eroded U.S. consumer confidence. With prices remaining up by 17.62% since the beginning of the crisis, households, especially low-income ones, are experiencing severe financial pressures. The rising costs of everyday necessities like food and rent disproportionately affect those with already limited financial resources.

These surveys paint a picture of a changing American landscape, where economic realities and shifting societal values challenge traditional beliefs in hard work and success.