ARGUING YES
Pulitzer Prize winner; Senior Writer for The New York Times and The Morning newsletter; Author of “Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream”
ARGUING NO
Political Economy Scholar and Director of Economic Policy Studies at American Enterprise Institute; Author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It)”
GUEST MODERATOR
Journalist and Co-Host of the Semafor Podcast “Mixed Signals”
This week:
- The American Dream: Is it still possible to achieve?
- A closer look at the status of the American Dream in 2024
- Your Sunday reading list
How voters feel about the attainability of the American Dream likely influenced their choices at the ballot box in last week’s presidential election.
For many Americans, achieving this dream means homeownership, providing for their family and children, going to college, and saving money for retirement. It’s a standard passed down by previous generations who came to this country in search of a better life, with the hope their children could achieve the same.
But is the country moving in the wrong direction? Some say that rising costs of healthcare, real estate, and education leave many individuals and families behind. Others with a more optimistic view say all is well, that Americans are upwardly mobile and embracing new opportunities to create wealth.
Is the American Dream in decline? Listen to this debate now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube and join our community on our website. As always, let us know what you think.
DEBATING THE DATA
Do you believe the American Dream is possible for you and your family?
POINT/COUNTERPOINT
Is the American Dream in Decline?
YES: David Leonhardt
“If you look at the economic evidence, Americans of nearly every point on the economic distribution enjoyed faster wage gains in the decades before 1980 than they have in the decades since 1980. This isn’t just an inevitable slowdown from the heady days of the 1950s and 1960s. The way it has slowed has meant that income growth has been really weak for most Americans and really strong for a small subset… For the last 15 years, we have had the worst life expectancy of any rich country. It’s not even that close anymore. These are the ways, through healthcare that people can’t afford, through good houses and good schools that people can’t afford, through their dropping out of the labor force… this is the dominant way in which the American Dream is in decline.”
NO: Michael Strain
“I think if you look back over the last 30 years, you see substantial progress. You see wage gains, income gains. You see an upwardly mobile society. You see improvements in quality of life….The fact that so many people of the world’s hardest working, most ambitious, most risk tolerant people want to come to America is a sign that things in America are relatively good compared to other countries.”
WEEKLY POINTS OF VIEW
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Kori Schake | November 5, 2024
Foreign Policy
Watch Kori’s debate on whether the U.S. should ban TikTok
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