A M

Political Report
o n t h l y P o l l C o mp i l a t i o n
Volume 10, Issue 11 • December 2014

What Does the American Dream Mean?

For the past five years, we have been collecting contemporary and historical polls on the American Dream. Pollsters don’t
ask about it regularly, so making definitive pronouncements about the health of the Dream is difficult.
The key elements people think about when they hear the words seem stable over time. An education for oneself and
one’s children, owning a home, and freedom to live life on one’s own terms almost always rank high. Becoming wealthy
usually ranks at the bottom of the list of what the Dream means.
Q: I’m going to read you some possible definitions or descriptions of the American Dream and for each one I’d like you to tell
me if that’s very much what you understand the American Dream to mean, or sort of what it means, or not what it means.

Very much what the Very much what the

American Dream means
1986
Top five responses
To be able to get a high school education 84%
To have freedom of choice in how to live one’s life 80
To own a home 78
To be able to send one’s children to college 77
To be able to get a college education 68
Lowest response
To be able to become wealthy 39%
American Dream means
1995
Top five responses
To own a house 77%
To be able to get a high school education 76
To live in an open society in which everyone
has an equal chance 75
To have freedom of choice in how to live one’s life 71
To be able to have a financially secure retirement 69
Lowest response
To be able to buy all the things one wants 37%

Source: The Roper Organization/Wall Street Journal, October 1986; the Roper Center, December 1995.

Q: How well does each word or statement describe the Q: Is this very much what you understand the American Dream
concept of the American Dream? to mean, or sort of what it means, or not what it means?
Percent that responded 8–10 Very much what the
on 10-point scale American Dream means
2004 2013
Top five responses Top five responses
Freedom 86% To have freedom of choice in how to live one’s life 75%
Happiness 76 To be rewarded for hard work 68
Family 75 To own a home 61
Personal fulfillment 74 The ability to balance work and family life 56
Equality of opportunity for all 73 To do better than one’s parents did 54

Lowest response Lowest response

Achieving an affluent or wealthy lifestyle 49% To be able to become wealthy 29%
Source: New American Dream/Widmeyer, July 2004. Source: Washington Post/Miller Center, September 2013.

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 Harder Than in the Past?
Each generation appears to believe that the obstacles to achieving the American Dream will be greater in the future than
they have been in the past, as the 1986–1995 trend from the Roper Organization and the more recent polls here show.

Q: Compared with the past—say, a generation ago—do Q: Compared to your parents’ generation, do you
you feel the American Dream is . . . ? think . . . ?

2004
Harder to attain Easier The American Dream is . . .
1986 45% 23% Harder to
1990 61 17 achieve 62%
1992 72 8 Easier 24
1993 64 13
Source: New American Dream/Widmeyer, July 2004.
1995 63 12

Source: The Roper Organization, latest that of December 1995.

Q: Thinking about the young adults you know today, do Q: Thinking about people you know who are about your
you think . . . ? age, do you think . . . ?
2014 2014
Ages 34 years or older Ages 18–33 years
Young adults today People your age face
face more economic more economic challenges
challenges than you than your parents’
did when first generation when
starting out 70% first starting out 71%
Fewer 7 Fewer 12
About the same 21 About the same 15
Source: The Pew Research Center, February 2014. Source: The Pew Research Center, February 2014.

Q: Thinking about the past few years, would you say it has become easier or harder for people like you to ______, or
hasn’t that changed much?
2013
Harder to Easier
Pay for college 77% 6%
Find good jobs 74 5
Save for retirement 71 6
Get ahead financially 66 7
Afford health care 65 8
Provide for your children 58 10
Find decent, affordable housing 54 15
Source: Washington Post/Miller Center, September 2013.

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 Standard of Living and Finances
Question wording matters. Virtually all surveys show that Americans believe their standard of living is better than their
parents’. In March 2014, for example, 54 percent of those surveyed by Bloomberg said it was higher than their parents’
when they were children. But when people are asked about their financial situation or opportunities compared to their
parents’, they aren’t as optimistic.
Q: Compared to your parents when they were the age you are now, do you think . . . ?

100

90

80
Your own standard of living is better than your parents'
70
63% 61%
60

50

40

30

20 Worse
17%
10 14%
0
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

Source: National Opinion Research Center, latest that of 2012.

Q: Is your current standard of living . . . ?

Your standard of living is . . .
Higher than your parents’ when
you were a child 54%
Lower 21
About the same 23
Source: Selzer & Company/Bloomberg, March 2014.

Q: Thinking about your family, do you think . . . ?

Your generation is better off financially
than your parents’ generation 36%
Worse off 47
About the same 16
Source: Public Religion Research Institute, July 2013.

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 Opportunity in America for the Average Person
In 1952, 87 percent told University of Michigan interviewers that there was plenty of opportunity in America for anyone
willing to work hard to get ahead. In a 2013 question from Gallup, 52 percent gave that response. In another Gallup ques-
tion from the same 2013 survey, people were very pessimistic about the opportunity for the “average person” to really get
ahead compared to the past.
Q: Some people say there’s not much opportunity in America today—that the average person doesn’t have much
chance to really get ahead. Others say there’s plenty of opportunity, and anyone who works hard can go as far as he
wants. How do you feel about this?
There’s not much
There’s plenty of opportunity opportunity
1952 87% 8%
1998 81 17
2011 57 41
2013 52 43
Source: University of Michigan, 1952; the Gallup Organization, latest that of September–October 2013.

Q: Since the time this country was settled, the United States has been called the land of opportunity. Do you think there
are more opportunities for Americans today than in the past, less opportunities for Americans today than in the past, or
about the same today as in the past?
More opportunities for Americans than in the past Less Same
1983 40% 34% 25%
1985 52 20 25
1986 54 21 22
1986 49 24 26
1990 47 20 28
1996 41 27 30
Source: The Roper Organization, 1983–1990; CBS News, March 1996.

Q: Is there more opportunity in America today for the average person to really get ahead than there used to be, less
opportunity for the average person to really get ahead, or is the amount of opportunity about the same?
More opportunity today for About
the average person to get ahead than there used to be Less the same
1998 43% 20% 36%
2000 54 15 30
2013 12 58 28
Source: The Gallup Organization, latest that of September–October 2013.

AEI POLITICAL REPORT CONTRIBUTORS

Karlyn Bowman, Senior Fellow; Editor: Heather Sims, Research Assistant.
Norman Ornstein, Resident Scholar; Intern: Emily Hardman.
Michael Barone, Resident Fellow.

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 Opportunity for You, the Next Generation
People generally say that their opportunities to succeed are better than those their parents had, but that conviction has
diminished in recent polls, as the CBS News/New York Times question here shows. Americans were unusually optimistic in
2000 when our economy was doing well. They have been more pessimistic since the 2008 crash.
Q: Do you think . . . ?
——–———Your opportunity to succeed compared with your parents’———–——
Better Not as good
December 1939 61% 20%
February 1940 59 22
January 1947 70 13
December 1990 70 15
August 1993 63 22
Source: The Roper Organization, latest that of August 1993.

Q: Compared to your parents’ generation, do you think . . . ?

——–—–––––––––——Your opportunities to succeed in life——–––––––––———
Better Worse
February 2000 72% 5%
June 2000 73 10
December 2006 55 21
June 2007 62 18
December 2009 47 27
February 2011 52 23
January 2014 44 35
July–August 2014 42 32
Source: CBS News but with the following two exceptions: the New York Times, June 2000; CBS News/New York Times, February 2011.

Q: Thinking ahead to when today’s children are your age, do you think they will have . . . ?
——–––––—When today’s children are your age, they will have——–—––——
More opportunity to get ahead Less
July 2009 31% 36%
December 2010 25 39
May 2011 33 35
September 2012 32 32
September 2013 20 45
Source: Allstate/National Journal, latest that of September 2013.

Q: Are you . . . ?
Satisfied with the opportunity for
the next generation of Americans
to live better than their parents 40%
Dissatisfied 58
Source: Gallup/USA Today, May 2012.

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 Hard Work: The Value, the Reality
Americans’ belief that hard work enables most people to get ahead is as solid as it has always been in public opinion polls.
Pew’s long trend, for which we show the first and the most recent responses below, shows remarkable stability on this
point. But as the Gallup question shows, people are less satisfied with the opportunity hard work provides. The two ques-
tions at the bottom show that people are usually more pessimistic about the future than they are about the past.
Q: For each statement, please tell me if you completely agree with it, mostly agree with it, mostly disagree with it, or
completely disagree with it.
Disagree, hard work offers little guarantee of success
1990 63%
2012 63
Source: Pew Research Center, latest that of April 2012.

Q: Which statement comes closer to your own views—even if neither is exactly right?
Most people who want to get ahead in life can make it if they’re willing to work hard
1994 68%
2014 65
Source: Pew Research Center, latest that of March 2014.

Q: Please listen carefully as I read each statement, and tell me if you would agree or disagree with that particular statement.
Agree, in America anyone can get ahead if they work hard enough
2007 64%
2008 65
2014 64
Source: Battleground /George Washington University, latest that of March 2014.

Q: Next, I’m going to read some aspects of life in America today. For each one, please say whether you are very satis-
fied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied.
Very/Somewhat satisfied
The opportunity for a person in this nation to get ahead by working hard
2001 76%
2014 54
Source: The Gallup Organization, latest that of January 2014.

Q: Ten years ago, do you think . . . ? Q: In 10 years, do you think . . . ?

People who worked hard and People who work hard and
played by the rules were play by the rules will be
More likely to get ahead 61% More likely to get ahead 30%
Less likely 23 Less likely 49
Source: The Atlantic/Aspen Institute, May 2014. Source: The Atlantic/Aspen Institute, May 2014.

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 Achieving the Dream
Our study of public opinion on the American Dream shows that most people understand it in a very personal way. That
may be one reason why substantial numbers of Americans over the past 20 years say they have already reached the Ameri-
can Dream, as they define it, and why roughly similar proportions say they will do so eventually.
Q: Do you think you will reach, as you define it, “the American Dream” in your lifetime, or have you already reached it?
Have already reached the American Dream Will reach it Will not reach it
August 1992 37% 43% 17%
December 1995 45 35 16
March 2005 32 38 27
March 2006 34 35 25
April 2009 44 31 20
March 2011 31 37 27
Source: Multiple polling organizations, including CBS News/New York Times, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, and the Pew Research
Center.

Q: Which of the following statements comes closest to your view? You feel as if you . . .
Have not achieved
it but will do Will never
Have achieved the American Dream so eventually achieve it
May 2009 44% 38% 15%
July 2010 40 39 20
September 2012* 44 42 12
Note: *Asked of registered voters.
Source: CNN/Opinion Research Corporation.

Q: People sometimes talk about the American Dream—having a nice home and financial security for you and your family.
Which of the following comes closest to your view?
——————————————Responses of——————————————
Hispanics African Americans
Feel as if you have achieved
the American Dream 30% 21%
Have not achieved it yet but
feel you will do so eventually 56 60
Feel you will never achieve the
American Dream 11 16
Source: Harvard School of Public Health/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/National Public Radio, January 2013.

AEI E-Book on the American Dream

Want to know more about public opinion on the American Dream? This issue of Political
Report previews AEI’s comprehensive new e-book, Is the American Dream Alive? Examining
Americans’ Attitudes.

Follow this link to download the e-book with historical and contemporary polls today:
http://www.aei.org/publication/american-dream-alive-examining-americans-attitudes

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 Millennials and the Dream
Millennials are pessimistic about their current situations, but optimistic about their futures, as the 1986 Roper/Wall Street
Journal poll and the 2014 Pew poll show. As we have shown in earlier sections of this report, Millennials are optimistic
about themselves but pessimistic about their generation.
Q: Different people are at different points along the road to The American Dream. On a scale from one to 10, where
one means that you are just beginning on the road to your American Dream, however you personally define it, and 10
means you’ve already achieved your American Dream, where would you place yourself—at the present time?
Q: Remembering that you just told me you are currently at point ____ on the scale from one to ten, how far along the
road to your American Dream do you think you will ultimately get? Again, choose any number from one to 10, where
one means you won’t get beyond the beginning of the road to your American Dream, and a 10 means you expect to
reach your American Dream.
The road to your American Dream
(Average ratings on a scale from 1 [the beginning] to 10 [achieved the Dream])
———————————————————1986———————————————————
Age My current position My ultimate position
18 to 29 years 4.6 8.7
30 to 44 5.8 8.5
45 to 64 6.5 7.9
65 and over 7.0 7.4
Source: The Roper Organization/Wall Street Journal, 1986.

Q: Do you now . . . ?
————————————————————2014————————————————————
Don’t earn enough Don’t earn enough
Earn enough money to lead now, but will now, and won’t
the kind of life you want in the future in the future
Generation
Millennial 32% 53% 14%
Generation X 38 30 30
Boomer 45 15 38
Silent 54 2 40
Note: Asked of those employed full or part-time.
Source: The Pew Research Center, February 2014.

Q: In general, when I am my parents’ age, I believe that I will be . . . ?

————————————————18–29 year olds—————————————————
I will be better off financially About
than my parents are now the same Worse
May 2013 39% 31% 17%
May 2014 41 28 15

Source: Harvard Institute of Politics, latest that of May 2014.

Q: Do you think your generation will be . . . ?

18–29 year olds
Better off than your parents’ generation 16%
About the same 36
Worse off 46
Source: Reason/Rupe, February–March 2014.

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