Survey Finds Troubling Trends in Public’s Beliefs About American Dream
By Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell/Daily Signal September 17, 2024
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Almost 70% of voters believe the American dream has become less attainable, according to a new report from the Rainey Center, a Washington-based public policy research organization.
Only 20% of American voters said they believe they have achieved the American dream, and just 26% believe their family has. Almost half of young people agreed the American dream is out of reach, according to the survey of 1,010 respondents over online panels from July 14-15, but released Friday.
Homeownership, reasonable taxes, and the ability to provide a better life for future generations were the aspects of the American dream respondents said were unattainable.
"America has unfortunately delved into a period of toxic national pessimism based on the affordability crisis plaguing our country," Rainey Center President Sarah Hunt told The Daily Signal. "Inflation is through the roof, interest rates are still rising, and runaway spending is out of control.
"However, there is hope on the horizon--the Rainey Center and our network of elected officials are constantly advancing innovative policies to best address the issues Americans face most," Hunt continued.
More than half of Americans polled said freedom and individual rights were the most important aspects of the American dream.
Older Americans particularly valued the ability to state one's opinions freely.
Forty percent of American voters said the American dream has become "much less attainable" over the past 10 years, while a further 26% say it has become "somewhat less attainable."
Less than 10% said it has become more attainable.
Latinos and white voters are more likely than black voters to say the American dream is much less attainable now. Women were more likely to take that position than men.
Republicans, at 46%, are more likely than Democrats, at 37%, to say the dream has become "much less" attainable.
Forty percent of those surveyed said the American dream is out of reach for themselves, 40% say they are on the way to achieving it, and the other 20% said they have successfully achieved it.
Americans were a little more optimistic about the American dream for their families. Thirty-five percent said the American dream is out of reach for their families, while 39% say they are on their way to it.
Almost 60% of voters said America is a place where people can expect "a fair shake," and 56% agreed there is equal opportunity for all.
Those surveyed were split on whether the American dream is real or a myth: 54% said it is mostly or somewhat real, while 39% said it is mostly or somewhat a myth.
The results come at the same time as another poll reveals Americans are more depressed than ever before.
According to the survey data, three in ten people in the United States had been clinically diagnosed with depression at a point in their lives in 2023.
This is the highest rate since the question started being asked, up 10.6 percentage points from 2015. The rate of increase was particularly steep in the first year of the pandemic, jumping up from 22.9 percent in 2020 to 28.6 percent in 2021. Meanwhile, 17.8 percent of respondents said that they currently had depression in 2023.
Originally published at The Daily Signal
