On January 12, 1964, a baby boy was born to a
teenage single mother by the name of Jacklyn Jorgensen. As this boy grew up, he took an interest in
electronics and developed a strong work ethic due to summers spent with his
grandfather on his Cotulla, Texas ranch.
Throughout high school and college he made an effort
to exert his abilities to all aspects of his life. Striving for a great education, he was able
to make the jump from a lower-class household to the life of a Princeton
graduate.
After reaching adulthood, he secured a well-paying
job at a New York hedge fund. However,
he heard about this new trend of internet usage taking place across the country
and he decided to explore the new field.
During a cross-country road trip, Amazon was created. The story described above is that of Jeff
Bezos, founder and CEO of the mega-corporation we know as Amazon. Jeff was able to work his way through the
American infrastructure to become one of Forbes richest individuals, with a
current net worth of nearly 30 billion dollars.
Jeff’s story represents the true American
Dream. But as of late, several analysts
are making claims that the American Dream may be dead.
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According to the latest report from the Pew CharitableTrusts, entitled “Pursuing the American Dream,” only 4 percent of those raised
in the bottom 20 percent will rise to the top 20 percent by the end of their
life. The report states that instead,
those raised in a particular class are highly likely to stay in or around that
same class.
One important note from the report states that
“Forty-three percent of Americans raised in the bottom quartile remain stuck in
the bottom as adults and 70 percent remain below the middle class."
While these numbers describe the long journey from
the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder to the top, there are other statistics
that claim that even achieving wealth higher than middle-class is difficult in
today’s economy.
Currently our economy is in the recovery phase,
after the “Great Recession” officially ended in June of 2009. Although there is a clear improvement in some
areas of the economy (home sales and unemployment rates), there is no arguing
that the median household income has declined.
In fact, according to Sentier Research, the median income is now
$52,100. Once adjusted for inflation,
this number shows the average income to be 6.1% lower than the average income
in the middle of the recession.
One modern measurement
of the American Dream has simply become home ownership. Many individuals look to the numbers to
determine whether or not the dream is still alive, and the numbers are not
looking great. TIME Magazine discusses the issue in more detail and reveals some
surprising statistics.
Only 65 percent of Americans actually own their
home, down from the pre-recession era.
Another interesting fact is that nearly 1 in 4 Americans are rethinking
why they want to purchase a house and what theyre looking for. For Example, rather than looking for the
perfect house with a white picket fence, they are now simply looking at the
most affordable housing. This takes a
huge toll on the housing market.
So what do all of these statistics add up to? It’s now more difficult than ever to get
ahead. Not only that, but it’s now more
difficult just to maintain middle-class status.
The rich are getting richer much faster than the
middle-class and lower-class can account for.
This confirms the belief that economic mobility may
not be quite as achievable as hoped. If
you’re born rich or born poor, odds are you’ll remain that way throughout your
lifetime (according to this study).
However, not every group is as negative about the
well-being of the American Dream. In
fact, some analysts have an optimistic view of mobility and have specified a
few groups that are still benefiting from the opportunity to achieve great
success here in America.
A new study posted by the Equality of OpportunityProject depicts massive regional variation with respect to the numbers of people able
to escape poverty. For example, being
born in the Northeast or the West Coast provides a better opportunity for
upward growth than a city in the South.
The study goes on to show several specific cities that provide higher
percentages for economic mobility. Topping
the list is Salt Lake City, Utah (with an 11.5 percent chance to change classes).
Other recent studies and interviews show similar
hope for success. According to
interviews conducted by Dr. Fiona Citkin, American immigrant women tend to view the American Dream as something that is
alive and well (keep in mind that American immigrant women make up 51 percent
of all immigrants).
So it seems that there is a variance in the view of
the American Dream and the prosperity that our ancestors saw as they arrived on
the shores of this country. However,
there is something that needs to be addressed in this post. What exactly is the American Dream?
For the sake of this informational piece, I have
been referring to the term to be something of a material success measure. To clarify, this is not the all-encompassing
definition of the dream. However, it is
one of the few ways to measure individual growth with factual numbers.
For example, it’s easy to look up the average income
amount in modern America. It is much
more difficult to get factual evidence for feelings of equality or
fairness. While these areas may be
prospering, they are nearly impossible to gather data for.
The technical definition for the American Dream (as
stated by the all-mighty Merriam-Webster Dictionary) is “an American social
ideal that stresses egalitarianism and especially material prosperity; also, the
prosperity or life that is the realization of this ideal.”
Despite what society may say or what the dictionary may claim, when all is said and done, the American Dream is different
for every individual living in this great country. Some may place a high value on feelings of
democracy and respect, while some may concern themselves with achieving great
wealth.
No matter what the American
Dream means to you, it’s important to understand the fact that it is – as the name suggests – a dream.
And dreams never die.
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