the atlantic/aspen institute survey 2015: the american dream - abbreviated

The Atlantic/Aspen Institute

The American DreamJune 2015


The American DreamJuly 2015

1

What Does the American Dream Mean in 2015? Summary Report

http://www.aspenideas.org/aif



2



PSB conducted an quantitative online survey in the US among 1,988 Gen Pop and 513 Broad Elites.

Methodology

Audiences PolledMethodology

SAMPLINGUS

Gen Pop Broad ElitesSample Size 1988 513

Margin of Error** ±1.75% ±3.58%

TIMING: June 8 - June 19, 2015 Gen Pop

Broad Elites• College graduate or higher• Income of $75,000 or more a year• Engaged with politics/technology

Research Objectives:

Defining the Dream—associations and obtainability of the American Dream

Identifying barriers to the Dream—greatest obstacles to achieving the dream

Reducing Barriers—Identifying whether there is a need or not, who is responsible, and best methods to reduce barriers

Understanding American perceptions surrounding the American Dream today— core concepts of the dream, prevalence, and views on the nation as a whole

2






Q31. Which of the following is closer to your view? (Right track/Wrong track)Q32. Which of the following is closer to your view? (Best days still ahead, Best days behind us)

Americans are pessimistic about the direction of the nation country

Elites

Gen Pop

43

36

57

64

America’s Current Course

Currently on the right track Currently on the wrong track

3






Q128. Which of the following is closer to your view?

Most Americans believe that the American Dream is “suffering”

Elites

Gen Pop

35

25

65

75

The American Dream is…

Alive and Well Suffering

4







Americans perceive the obstacles to attaining the American Dream to be more severe today than in the past

Elites

Gen Pop

34

31

66

69

Obstacles to Realizing the American Dream

Obstacles to realizing the American Dream are no more severe today than they’ve ever been

Obstacles to realizing the American Dream are more severe today than ever

5






Q130. Do you believe you are living the American Dream? Q132. Do you believe you will have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream in your lifetime?

Almost three-quarters of Americans believe they are currently living the dream or will be able to attain it in the future

Gen Pop Elites

2814

22

14

50

72

Do you believe you are living the American Dream?

Not living the dream, and don't believe they can Not living the dream, but believe they can Living the dream

6

7286






30 or under 31-50 51-64 65+ White African American Latino/Hispanic Asian

23 2637

27 3218 17 18

36 26 12

717 39

28 27

41 48 5166

51 4355 55

Do you believe you are living the American Dream?

Not living the dream, and don't believe they can Not living the dream, but believe they can Living the dream

Q130. Do you believe you are living the American Dream? Q132. Do you believe you will have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream in your lifetime?

77% of Millennials say that they are living the dream or believe they can, racial minorities more optimistic than white Americans

7

77 7463

73 68 82 83 82






Most Americans are satisfied with their lives and optimistic about their future

Q12. How satisfied are you with your life?Q13. How optimistic are you about your future?

Gen Pop Elites

4 110

6

50

41

3652

Optimism about Future

Gen Pop Elites

312

5

49

39

36

56

Satisfaction with Life

8

Very Satisfied

Somewhat Dissatisfied

Somewhat Satisfied

Very Dissatisfied

Very Optimistic

Somewhat Pessimistic

Somewhat Optimistic

Very Pessimistic

8595 86 93






Most Americans feel secure about their personal financial situation and are happy with their current employment

Q27. Are you happy or unhappy in your job?9

Gen Pop Elites3 1

8 8

1711

4549

27 31

Happiness with Job

Neither Happy nor Unhappy

Completely Happy

Somewhat Unhappy

Somewhat Happy

Completely Unhappy

8072

Gen Pop Elites

11 1

22

11

49

51

18

37

Feelings About Personal Financial SecurityVery Secure

Somewhat Insecure

Somewhat Secure

Very Insecure

67

88






Q140.mA-Q170.mA. How attainable are each of the following for the average American?

Most believe that the key characteristics of the American Dream are achievable

10

76

6053

77

89

74

49

85

72

8782

6862

8794

78

52

92

82

92

How Attainable are the Most Important Characteristics of the American Dream?Top 10 Most Important Elements of American Dream Shown

Top 2 Box ShownRanked by Most Important

GenPop Broad Elite






Q23. Which of the following is closer to your ideal in terms of where to live?

Most Americans consider suburban neighborhoods closest to their “ideal” in terms of where to live neighborhood

Broad Elites

Gen Pop

64

53

19

19

15

26

1

2

Ideal Place to LiveIn a family-oriented, suburban neighborhood In a vibrant urban neighborhood In a more rural area Something else

11






Q23. Which of the following is closer to your ideal in terms of where to live?

Millennials also prefer the suburbs and are only slightly more interested in urban living than other age cohorts

Asian

Latino/Hispanic

African-Americans

White

63

53

53

53

29

29

32

14

8

16

14

31

3

2

Ideal Place to Live

In a family-oriented, suburban neighborhood In a vibrant urban neighborhoodIn a more rural areaSomething else

65+

51-64

31-50

30 or under

50

53

54

52

15

15

19

24

31

29

25

23

4

3

1

1

Ideal Place to Live

In a family-oriented, suburban neighborhood In a vibrant urban neighborhoodIn a more rural areaSomething else

12






Most respondents have a PC, car, flat-screen TV and smart phone

Q17. Which of the following items do you or your immediate family have or own? Please select all that apply.

Perso

nal C

ompu

ter

Car

Flat-s

cree

n TV

Health

care

cove

rage

Smar

tpho

ne

A livin

g wag

e

House

or C

ondo

min

ium

Table

t

Home

offic

e/ D

en/ F

amily

room

6 m

onth

s of e

mer

genc

y sav

ings

A finan

cial p

lan

for r

etire

men

t

89 85 8276

7161

55 5545

33 33

90 94 91 8894

83 83 8373 70 72

Item Ownership

Gen Pop Elites

• Broad Elites are more than twice as likely to have 6 months emergency savings and a retirement plan vs. Gen Pop

13






Americans who do not believe they are living the American Dream have much less in terms of savings or retirement planning than those living the Dream

Q17. Which of the following items do you or your immediate family have or own? Please select all that apply.

Perso

nal C

ompu

ter

Car

Flat-s

cree

n TV

Health

care

cove

rage

Smar

tpho

ne

A livin

g wag

e

House

or C

ondo

min

ium

Table

t

Home

offic

e/ D

en/ F

amily

room

6 m

onth

s of e

mer

genc

y sav

ings

A finan

cial p

lan

for r

etire

men

t

88 88 84 8071 71 67

59 5847 45

8981 81

73 70

5044

51

31

19 20

Item Ownership

Living the American Dream Not Living the American Dream

14






Q139. Which of the following are most important to your, personal, American Dream? Please select top 5 that apply.

Most Important Themes of the American DreamRanked by 30 or Younger

30 or younger

31-50 51-64 65+

Financial Security 80 75 80 83

Being debt-free 37 31 40 42

Achieving financial security 31 35 41 46

Getting ahead through hard work 17 17 19 22

Retiring when you want 13 13 20 20

Owning your own business 11 7 6 3

Being/becoming wealthy 10 11 4 2

Traditional family values 67 68 66 68

A healthy marriage 29 26 27 30

Owning a nice home 25 26 27 26

Having kids 20 15 10 11

Having access to a good education 14 14 14 18

My children attending college 13 17 12 8

Living in a family-oriented suburban community 8 9 4 4

Personal happiness 61 52 56 49

Pursuing happiness 32 23 18 15

Being free to pursue your personal or professional passions 18 18 19 19

A healthy balance between my professional and personal lives 18 18 20 11

Lifelong friends 17 9 15 15

Living near your peers 2 1 1 0

Most Important Themes of the American Dream(cont.)

30 or younger

31-50 51-64 65+

Comfort, quality of life 48 62 71 73

Living comfortably 31 39 47 49

Providing a comfortable quality of life for your family 21 38 38 42

Luxury 32 23 20 15

Traveling to other countries 9 5 3 5

Owning a nice car 6 7 7 5

Taking yearly vacations 7 6 7 5

Having the latest technology 6 5 2 1

Membership in exclusive social club or organization 5 1 0 0

Access to great technology and entertainment online 3 1 2 0

Having a vacation or second home 2 2 2 1

Helping Others 22 23 24 29

Helping others 14 14 19 22

Having a job that has a meaningful impact on my community/society 9 10 7 11

Having affordable healthcare 11 20 33 38

Living in a vibrant urban neighborhood 7 4 3 2

Other 0 1 1 3

All ages view Financial Security as central to their own, personal American Dream

15

Top 2 Answers






Professional GoalsRanked by Gen Pop

30 or Under

31-50 51-64 65+

Having a good work/life balance 45 49 45 37

Pays a lot of money 46 40 31 23

Working near where you live or having an easy commute 18 30 36 39

Having flexibility in when and where you work 27 31 30 21

Working in a fun workplace environment 30 22 28 21

Reflects your personal passions 28 20 19 15

Making an impact 20 16 16 17

Working in a humane, nurturing workplace environment 9 13 16 15

Having opportunities for training and development 11 13 9 11

Being able to navigate your own career path 9 8 7 8

Being able to take on new professional challenges 8 9 6 9

Uses the most up-to-date technology 7 7 5 4

Being able to support social causes that are important to you 6 5 5 6

Encourages an entrepreneurial spirit 6 4 4 2

Traveling for work 6 4 3 5

Offers opportunities to work abroad 3 5 3 3

None of the above 4 6 11 19

Q30. Thinking a little more about your professional goals... Please pick the three things that would be the most important elements of your ideal job situation. Please select your top 3.

Younger Americans want jobs that Pay a lot of money, whereas older Americans are interested in Work/life balance and an Easy commute

16

Top Answers






Gen Pop Elites

156

8594

30 or Younger 31-50 51-64 65+

10 1220 17

90 8880 83

White AfricanAmerican

Latino/Hispanic

Asian

23

5 316

77

95 9784

Americans 51-64 are the most pessimistic about their future, particularly among white Americans

Q12. How satisfied are you with your life?Q13. How optimistic are you about your future?

17

Optimistic Pessimistic

Optimism about Future

51-64

All Age Ethnicity among 51-64






Q175. Do you think getting married is part of the American dream? Q176. Do you think having children is part of the American dream?

When asked directly, Millennials are the most likely of all age cohorts to indicate that marriage and having children are part of the American Dream

30 or under 31-50 51-64 65+

62

51

4247

Is Marriage Part of the American Dream?

% Yes Shown

30 or under 31-50 51-64 65+

62

55

4853

Is Having Children Part of the American Dream?

% Yes Shown

18






Q173. Which of the following is closer to your view?Q174. How does your race impact your ability to achieve the American dream?

Roughly one-third of Americans believe race is an important factor for attaining the American Dream, though most don’t believe it has affected them personally

Broad Elites

Gen Pop

30

22

53

60

17

18

The Impact of Race on Achieving the American Dream

Probably helps me Probably has no impact for me

Probably makes it more difficult for me

Broad Elites

Gen Pop

39

34

61

66

The Importance of Race and Availability of The American Dream

Race is an important factor Race is not an important factor

• However over half of both audiences believe it has made it more difficult for them

19






Q173. Which of the following is closer to your view?Q174. How does your race impact your ability to achieve the American dream?

African-Americans believe that race is an important factor in the availability of the American Dream and has affected them personally

Asian

Latino/Hispanic

African-American

White

31

22

11

24

49

48

32

68

20

30

57

8

The Impact of Race on Achieving the American Dream

Probably helps me Probably has no impact for me

Probably makes it more difficult for me

Asian

Latino/Hispanic

African-American

White

45

47

60

25

55

53

40

75

The Importance of Race and Availability of The American Dream

Race is an important factor Race is not an important factor

20






Q125. If everyone had roughly the same opportunity to achieve their goals based on their own effort and merit, would it still be okay that some people in America do not achieve their goals?

As long as everyone has opportunity, Americans believe it is okay that some people fail to achieve their goals

Elites

Gen Pop

84

76

16

24

If opportunity was all equal, would it be okay that some do not achieve their goals?

Yes No

21






Q123 Which of the following is closer to your view?

Concentration of wealth is not a problem so long as they are able to provide for themselves and their family

Elites

Gen Pop

58

64

42

36

Perceived Concentration of WealthAs long as I am able provide the life I want for myself and my family, it doesn’t matter if others are substantially wealthier than me

The concentration of wealth and privilege within the top 1% of American society is a problem

22







Most believe the Dream is achievable if you work for it

Broad Elites

Gen Pop

71

65

29

35

The American Dream is…

Still achievable for those who are willing to work for it No longer a possibility for most Americans no matter how hard they work

23






Q203. Does action need to be taken to reduce the barriers to the American Dream?

Americans believe action should be taken immediately to reduce the barriers to the Dream

Yes, immediately Yes, in the future No

68

19

13

74

1511

Does Action Need to Be Taken to Reduce Barriers to the American Dream

Gen Pop Elites

24






Q178.mA. Please rank each of the following from the greatest barrier/ obstacle to achieving the American Dream to the least.

Top 3 Barriers/Obstacle Themes to The DreamRanked by Democrat

Democrat Independent Republican

Lack of opportunity 82 74 54

Rules favor the wealthy 27 18 10

Economic inequality 24 18 10

Lack of economic opportunity 22 19 13

Decline of the middle class 18 16 16

Unequal access to education 16 14 9

Access to affordable housing 13 10 7

Lack of government support for programs for the disadvantaged

10 6 3

Lack of socio-economic mobility 7 8 7

Lack of access to technology tools and training 5 6 3

Government 37 45 58

Lack of government policies to support economic growth 11 9 9

Big government 9 18 25

High government spending 9 16 18

Obamacare 9 10 18

Excessive government regulations 8 10 17

Top 3 Barriers/Obstacles Themes to The Dream(Cont.)

Democrat Independent Republican

Values 26 38 44

Decline of work ethic 14 24 28

Decline of values/moral standards 14 20 26

Erosion of personal liberties 3 7 8

Personal debt 21 18 20

Discrimination 21 10 9

Racial discrimination 16 7 6

Gender discrimination 7 3 3

Cost of healthcare 14 17 12

Political gridlock 11 8 11

Too much immigration 7 10 13

Lack of immigration reform 5 6 7

Republicans view Government as the biggest barrier to the dream, while Democrats and Independents view it as Lack of Opportunity

25

Top Answers






Q205. Which of the following could have the most impact in reducing the barriers to the American Dream? Please select your top three.

Democrats and Independents focus on Expand Access/Opportunities to reduce barriers to the Dream, while Republicans Focus on Reducing Government

Reducing Barriers to The American DreamRanked by Democrat Democrat Independent Republican

N-Size 593* 496* 465*

Expanding access/opportunities 68 56 38

Make college free or much more affordable 31 23 18

Expand access to free healthcare 14 11 7

Improve access to quality education in poor communities 13 11 6

Provide free job training 12 14 8

Expand access to affordable housing 12 10 6

Increase funding of anti-poverty programs 10 6 3

Redistribution 57 37 27

Increase taxes on the wealthy 28 20 15

Increase minimum wage nationwide 29 19 10

Increase taxes on corporations 12 8 6

Reduce government 36 52 71

Reduce government spending 15 23 31

Increase economic growth by cutting taxes 13 21 27

Repeal Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) 7 13 24

Increase economic growth by reducing regulation 5 13 24

Eliminate regulations that limit personal liberties 4 7 11

Reducing Barriers to The American Dream (cont.) Democrat Independent Republican

Discrimination 19 18 20

End race-based discrimination 16 8 4

End gender-based discrimination 9 4 2

Fix our public schools 18 18 17

Work ethic, entrepreneurship 14 21 29

Emphasize work ethic and personal accountability 9 15 23

Increase support for entrepreneurship 5 8 7

Reduce immigration 11 15 18

Reduce political partisanship 7 9 9

Immigration reform 7 10 10

26

*Asked of only those that indicated action needs to be taken

Top Answers






Q207. Do you consider yourself wealthy, middle class or poor?

Nearly 7 in 10 respondents describe themselves as Middle Class

27

Gen Pop Elites

28

3

69

86

311

Class

Poor Middle class Wealthy


the atlantic/aspen institute survey 2015: the american dream - abbreviated

Lifestyle

american dream obstacles

american perceptions

atlanticaspen institute

gen pop elites

elites gen pop obstacles

dreamgreatest obstacles

best days

quarters of americans