Poll: Half Say Goodbye To 'American Dream'
NEW YORK (CBS) — After decades of financial prosperity for a nation that served as the economic engine of the world, more than half of Americans say they are losing hope of ever achieving the success of previous generations, according to a new survey.
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While over half of U.S. families believe they are indeed "living the dream, in households earning between $40,000 and $50,000 –typically considered that the middle class earners - that belief drops to just 41%.
Even among college graduates, slightly less than half don't feel they are living the Dream. About 1 in 3 (29%) of those in households earning $75,000 or more a year -- the highest income category in the survey -- report they are not living the American Dream.
In spite of widespread doubts about whether individuals have achieved or will achieve the American Dream, 74% believe that the ideal of reaching the American Dream and being able to "make it" in America is largely true and possible, as opposed to being just a myth. Sixty-eight percent of those in households earning less than $25,000 a year also share this belief.
"Even though many consumers are worried about their own prospects for success, they have not shaken the belief that the American Dream remains a very strong possibility," said Bradley Honan, senior vice president of StrategyOne, the firm behind the survey.
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