THE AMERICAN DREAM SURVEY 2006
Hope and Fear in Working America

The American Dream Survey of non-supervisory workers conducted by Lake Research Partners shows that the American Dream is as powerful a concept today as it has ever been. America’s workers say the American Dream is not about getting rich or hitting the lottery—it is about achieving the basics of middle-class comfort and security: a good job, owning a home, a secure retirement, quality and affordable health care, and a better life for their children. However, on Labor Day 2006, in the midst of record corporate profits and a purported economic recovery, America’s workers feel the American Dream slipping away. In an America politically polarized into red and blue states, the American working middle class is remarkably united in its view of the American Dream.

A majority of these working- and middle-class Americans do not feel they have obtained the American Dream, though most still believe it is obtainable. In this survey, they tell us that stagnant wages, skyrocketing health care, a rising cost of living and rising debt are putting the American Dream at risk. In a stunning change from past generations, and perhaps for the first time in our nation’s history, a majority do not believe the next generation of Americans will be better off than the current generation.

Whatever the business pages say, workers tell us they are facing tough times in America. Working Americans, though resilient, feel pessimistic about the direction of the country and the economy. They worry that not only their own opportunities, but those of their children, are stagnating or declining. Driving their bleak view of the future are workers’ experience of wages not keeping up with the cost of living, the fact that many must incur debt to pay for basic necessities like food and utilities, and that most are feeling forced to postpone retirement to an older age than they had expected.

These survey results are not only a portrait of stagnation, frustration, and worry, they also represent a call to action. Working Americans believe the American Dream is still attainable and that our country can and should do better. Across partisan and demographic lines, workers believe they can make things better if they become more politically active. Workers believe overwhelmingly in the right to unionize without fear of reprisal, and over two thirds believe joining a union would make things better for working people. In 2006, America’s workers are ready for change and are ready to participate in making that change happen.

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lines that stood out for me in the press release:

more than eight out of ten non-supervisory workers in America say that that no matter what you hear about the economy, working families are falling behind.

and

On the issue worrying most workers, health care, they feel strongly (61%)—and 82% overall agree—that America cannot rely on the marketplace for health insurance; government has a responsibility to make sure Americans have health insurance.