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MSN Money
Is the new
American dream way out of reach?
The definition of the term is changing as people begin to want more
than just a home and a decent salary.
A new study shows that a majority of Americans are living the American
Dream -- even if they largely don't realize it.
The poll, conducted by marketing firm DDB as part of its 2014 Life
Style Study, found that only 40 percent of American adults over the age
of 18 believe they are "living the American Dream."
The same 7,015-person study also found that sizable majorities reported
owning a home, receiving a "good education," finding a "decent job" and
giving their children better lives than they themselves had -- all
traditional tenets of the American Dream.
Although these findings may not seem intuitive, the answer behind this
discrepancy could lie in an important trend in American financial
security.
"Even though people report that they are not living the dream, they
actually are when you look at the traditional benchmarks," said Denise
Delahorne of DDB Chicago, who worked closely with the survey. She
theorized that many people do not see themselves as having attained the
traditional American Dream because of a shifting definition of the term.
"If you're new to this country, then life seems pretty good here,"
Delahorne said. "But for many people who have lived here a long time,
they've started to think of the American Dream less as the traditional
elements and more relative to wealth."
In the survey, only 25 percent of adults reported that they have been
able to "make a lot of money" in their life.
But Erin Currier, the director of economic mobility at The Pew
Charitable Trusts, told CNBC she does not think the disparity between
the respondents' life histories and their own assessment of American
Dream fulfillment lies in an evolving definition. Still, she agreed
with Delahorne: The explanation lies in wealth.
American families "have enough that they are able to consume those
indicators of the American Dream, but they aren't financially secure,"
Currier said, drawing the distinction to an increase in citizens'
incomes but not their wealth. "My instinct is that people feel that on
a day-to-day basis."
Because Americans are "treading water," she said, they are too insecure
to be able to enjoy their achievements. Still, Pew research from 2009
confirms that the elements listed on the DDB survey roughly align with
what citizens see as the American Dream...
See the chart breaking out the details at MSN Money
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