White people have least confidence in the American Dream

[MikeWB]

White people have least confidence in the American Dream


Americans say the American Dream is suffering — and that our laziness and low morals may be partially to blame.

Searches for "American Dream" have fallen 24% since Google began tracking this data in 2004 -- and when you type "American Dream" into Google, three of the four top autofills are "dead," "a lie" and "leaving America," according to an analysis of Google Trends data released Friday in a report by brokerage firm Convergex.

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Furthermore, three in four Americans now say that the "American Dream" — broadly, the notion that through hard work and determination every American can have a successful life — is suffering, according to the 7th Annual American Values Survey unveiled last year at the Aspen Ideas Festival.

What's more, 69% say the obstacles to realizing the dream are "more severe today than ever" — and note that a decline in work ethic is the primary hurdle to Dream achievement. The poll of more than 2,300 Americans was conducted by Burson-Marsteller and market research firm Penn Schoen Berland.
Top 10 barriers to achieving the American Dream
Percent of Americans who say this is a top barrier to more people achieving the American Dream

Decline in work ethic   22%
Decline in values/moral standards   20%
Personal debt   20%
Rules favoring the wealthy   19%
Lack of economic opportunity   18%
Economic inequality   17%
Big government   17%
Decline of the middle class   17%
Cost of healthcare   15%
High government spending   14%
Source: 7th Annual American Values Survey

Strangely, while the vast majority of Americans say the American Dream is on the decline, most think that they themselves are living the Dream — or at least expect that they will down the road. Half of all Americans say they are living the Dream now and 22% believe they can achieve it in their lifetime.

"The macro-picture is that things are poor but the micro-picture isn't," says Mark Penn, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Microsoft, and founder of Penn Schoen Berland. The discrepancy may be, in part, due to the fact that there is a lot of partisanship in this country and plenty of negative ads and other messaging around politics that lead people to believe the country is on the wrong path, he explains.

White people are the least likely to think they either are living the American Dream or can achieve it. While more than 80% of Asian-Americans, Latinos, and African-Americans say they are either living the dream or believe they can, just 68% of whites say the same thing. Penn notes that this may be due, in part, to the fact that thanks to the Obama presidency, African-Americans and other minorities now feel better about their prospects as well.

White people think the American Dream is least achievable

Whites   African-Americans   Latinos/Hispanics   Asians
Currently living the American Dream   51%   43%   55%   55%
Not living the Dream, but believe they can   17%   39%   28%   27%
Not living the Dream, and don't believe they can   32%   19%   17%   18%

Source: 7th Annual American Values Survey

The notion of what exactly makes up the American Dream seems to be changing. While it used to be a home and two kids, now fewer than one in four people name "owning a home" as a key part of the American Dream and just 15% say having kids. Instead, items like "living comfortably" and "achieving financial security" top the list.

What the American Dream means today
Percent of Americans who say these are important to achieving the American Dream
Living comfortably   41%
Achieving financial security   37%
Being debt free   36%
Providing a comfortable quality of life for your family   35%
A healthy marriage   28%
Owning a nice home   26%
Having affordable healthcare   24%
Pursuing happiness   23%
Being free to pursue your personal or professional passions   18%
Getting ahead through hard work   18%
A healthy balance between my professional and personal lives   17%
Helping others   16%

Source: 7th Annual American Values Survey

(This story has been updated.)

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