The idea that with hard work comes success in the U.S., otherwise known for years as the American Dream, has slowly fallen out of the hearts and minds of Americans, according to a recently released poll.
Such a survey comes as Americans deal with one of the worst financial crises since the mid-1970s when then-President Jimmy Carter was in office.
A new Wall Street Journal/NORC poll revealed that just 36% of American voters still regard the American Dream as achievable, marking a decrease of 17% compared to those who claimed the same in 2012, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Americans losing faith in the system. This WSJ poll asks the question: Do you think the American dream, that if you work hard you will get ahead, still holds true?#UnitedStaes #Economy #AmericanDream pic.twitter.com/csAS7pblCX
— Wealth Nodes (@Wealth_Nodes) November 24, 2023
In 2022, the Wall Street Journal polled hard-working Americans on whether hard work can guarantee one’s success in the U.S., to which 68% agreed — a percentage nearly twice as much as the recently released poll.
No longer does the majority of America believe in the American Dream. The Wall Street Journal’s survey serves as evidence that Americans across the political spectrum and of different backgrounds and religions are losing faith in their country’s promise that hard work creates prosperity.
Under the Biden administration, Americans are finding themselves spending up to three times more for the same product than they did just a couple of years ago. Housing has become unaffordable, with most Americans having to settle for rent. Gasoline prices have skyrocketed without an end in sight since President Joe Biden took office.
Overall, America is in financial disarray.
In the Wall Street Journal/NORC poll, over 50% of U.S. voters said that life in America is worse compared to 50 years ago.
The question of whether the American Dream was attainable seemed to resonate most with young adults and women in the poll. Nearly 50% of men and 28% of women agreed that hard work can lead to one’s success, along with 48% of voters ages 65 or older.
Some respondents who agreed that the American Dream was reachable also expressed their insecurity over the issue, given today’s financial climate.
“We have a nice house in the suburbs, and we have a two-car garage,” Graham, a 30-year-old man whose wife is an electrical engineer, said. “But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that money was tight.”
For the 30-year-old and most of his neighbors, “no matter how good it looks on the outside, I feel we are all a couple of paychecks away from being on the street,” he added.
Interestingly, Graham is a Democrat who voted for President Joe Biden but said life is “objectively worse” in the U.S. today than 50 years ago.
A supporter of former President Donald Trump from Missouri, John Lasher, echoed Graham’s sentiment about the American Dream, calling such an idea “past tense.”
Lasher said that in the past, “if you showed up for work and you did your job well and you tried to help out, you were rewarded,” but not today.
