Reworking the American Dream: Equal Opportunity and Upward Mobility in a Post-Industrial Era

The American Dream Decent wages and benefits Job security Home ownership Middle-class lifestyle Sense of pride and belonging Upward mobility for one’s children

Post-war social policies Funding and loans for higher education Home loans and tax benefits for mortgages Regulation of employment opportunities, wages, and benefits Public works projects Economic support for those without jobs Policies that protect workers’ rights to unionize

Myths of a classless society Equal opportunity for upward mobility Erasure of class consciousness and conflict Everyone’s middle class Sense of entitlement

Since the 1970s: Redefining the American Dream

Economic Globalization Easy movement of financial resources Communication becomes fast and easy Transportation makes it easier to move goods International divisions of labor Development of global markets increases demand Institutional lag

Geographic Shifts Movement of industries From cities to suburbs From northeast to south and west From U.S. to other countries Leads to weakening of the economic value of industrial labor Deindustrialization Undermines the urban northeast African-American workers especially vulnerable to economic struggle

Changes in Work Loss of manufacturing jobs with high pay and good benefits Growth of service and retail jobs with low pay and poor benefits Growth of part-time, contingent, and multiple employment Many people cannot find work consistent with their training and abilities Unemployment

Work Life vs. Home Life Longer hours cut into family life Combined hours of work for married couples has increased by almost 20% in the last 3 decades to almost 70 hours a week Women’s “second shift” Workplace sometimes offers more satisfaction than home life Work moves into the home Telecommuting Workers always “available” by phone or

More Work, Less Pay US workers work one full month longer per year than they did 20 years ago by working more jobs Workers in the U.S. work more hours and are paid less per hour than workers in other industrialized nations Real wages are declining Average hourly earnings fell 9% in real terms since 1973 despite productivity gains

A larger share of earnings go to pay for benefits

Growing Inequalities In 1976, the top 10% owned 50% of the wealth; today they own 70%. In , the ratio of the family income of the top 20% to bottom 20% was 7.4%. In , it was 10%. According to Business Week, in 1980 CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies were paid 41 times more than the average for workers. In 1990, they were paid 85 times more. In 2000, 531 times more.

Changing Composition of the Workforce More workers Baby boom Women entering the workforce Birth control Economic Need Feminism Immigration Changing demographics More educated Older baby boomers age but keep working Minorities & women gaining access to better jobs

Work in the 21 st Century: Who Works The median age of the labor force is rising: almost 41 by % of all women are in the labor force; 75% of all men 20% of married women make more their husbands 75% of mothers work

Who Works: Racial Composition of the Workforce

Education and Work

College graduates over 25 make twice as much as those with high school or less Earnings of college educated women more than doubled in last 20 years, but they still earn less than men The unemployment rate for men who dropped out of high school is four times the rate of college educated men Some jobs with above-average earnings do not require a college degree but most require substantial training

Future trends As the population ages, fewer workers will support more retirees Men are tending to stay with one employer for fewer years; women stay longer Temporary help industry growing rapidly 13 million people work as independent contractors, temps, contract workers, or on-call workers

New jobs, Growth industries High-tech: computer engineers, computer support specialists, systems analysts, database operators, desktop publishing specialists, Health care: personal care and home health care aides, medical assistants, social and human service assistants, and physician assistants

Competing Visions of the American Dream Polarization of America New ideas about class New nationalism Struggle over memory

Polarization Income and wealth gap increasing New entrepreneurs raise expectations about success Getting rich, not just comfortable Ever-increasing expectations of consumption

Polarization Average Americans are working more and earning less Job security is no longer expected Wages and benefits decreasing

Social supports have disappeared Reduced funding for education Privatization of social supports Education Health insurance Pensions Welfare reform Government policies geared to supporting global corporations rather than people

Class becomes more fluid New ways of talking about social groups Dot com millionaires Soccer moms Working families Working poor Underclass

New nationalism Loss of “entitlements” Economic opportunities Sense of invulnerability Safety & personal freedom Innocence of imperialism Politics of resentment Blaming “others” for economic losses Workers in other countries Global corporations Resistance to globalization

Struggle over memory Nostalgia for “better times” Ideals about “American exceptionalism” Ignores the limitations of the American dream Expectations of a “better” future Every generation should “move up” Standard of living should keep improving

Is there a future for the American dream? “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow”