existed at all.
The most pessimistic Americans are those under 50; less than 40% of those between 18 and 29 say the American dream today is still attainable, and the number is barely better for middle-aged adults.
What Is The American Dream?
The term originates from the 1931 bestseller The Epic of America by author James Truslow Adams, in which he defines the term as “a dream of a better, richer and happier life for all our citizens of every rank.”
For example, a home that cost $150,000 in 1988 had a mortgage payment of $1068 per month.
That exact same house cost $499,548 in October of 2020 but the mortgage payment only rose to $1,574.
This is because mortgage rates fell to 2.68 percent from 10.38 percent.
Homeowners were beneficiaries of Fed policy. That has changed now. Current 30 year mortgage rates are north of 6%.
https://www.wsj.com/economy/consumers/american-dream-poll-us-economy-e5ddf640?mod=hp_lead_pos7
A July Wall Street Journal/NORC poll of 1,502 U.S. adults shows a stark gap between people’s wishes and their expectations. The trend was consistent across gender and party lines, but held more true for younger generations, who have been priced out of homeownership and saddled with high interest rates and student debt.
Twelve years ago, when researchers at Public Religion Research Institute asked 2,501 people if the American dream “still holds true,” more than half said it did. When The Wall Street Journal asked the same question in July, that dropped to about a third of respondents.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/biden-s-beatdown-of-american-dream-homes-unaffordable-in-99-of-nation-for-average-american-study-shows/ar-AA1hDtI5
A new report says that home ownership is out of reach for anyone living in 99 percent of America’s counties.
As home ownership becomes unaffordable, a political dynamic takes shape, Wendy Schiller, a Brown University political science professor, told the Detroit News.
"It contributes to a general sense that the American Dream is out of reach
“The benchmark of a six-figure salary used to be the gold standard income,” Sabrina Romanoff, a clinical psychologist, told CNBC. “It represented the tipping point of finally earning a disposable income and building savings and spending based on your wants, not just your needs.”
More than half (52%) of Americans say they would need at least $100,000 a year to feel financially comfortable, with 26% saying they would need a salary in the range of $100,000 to $149,000 per year, according to a 2023 CNBC Your Money survey conducted by SurveyMonkey.