NIGHTMARE

Most People in the U.S. Believe the American Dream Is Dead

One nation, under a cloud of economic pessimism.

Almost 70 percent of Americans think the nation’s bootstraps have snapped, according to a new poll, with more people than at any other point in the past 15 years saying the American Dream of working hard to get ahead “no longer holds true or never did,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Republicans generally appear less pessimistic about their and their children’s economic prospects, with 55 percent expressing a negative view compared to 90 percent of Democrats. While it’s well established that whichever party happens to hold power assumes a more positive outlook, the current disillusionment seems to cut across various demographics, with little difference in the distributions between men and women, younger and older adults, respondents with and without a college degree, and those who earn above or below $100,000. “It sort of saddens me,” Stanford economics professor Neale Mahoney said. “I think one of our superpowers as a country is our relentless optimism… It is the fuel for entrepreneurship and other exceptional achievements.”