Americans Claim “American Dream” is Becoming Less Attainable

(TotalConservative.com) – Is the so-called “American Dream” just a dream? According to two new surveys, many Americans are beginning to feel that way as the cost of living continues to rise and faith in the US economic system continues to fall.

Two recent surveys published on Monday, Jan. 15, showed a troubling trend: the average American can no longer afford an automobile, and most have lost faith in the “American Dream” of prosperity. The first survey published by Newsweek drew from Census data and data from CoPilot, a car shopping app, and found that the price of a new car is now out of reach for most people.

The survey looked at the average cost of new cars, which has increased substantially after the 2020 pandemic due to a shortage of microchips used in vehicles and other supply chain issues that led to manufacturing shutdowns. The following year, a surge of demand for automobiles flooded in and prices went through the roof, increasing by at least 30% since the 2020 lockdowns. Rising costs are also due to a shift in focus amongst automakers toward luxury amenities. Used cars have also gone up by 38%.

Concurrent with the data on automobile prices, another poll found that most Americans now believe there’s no such thing as the “American Dream” anymore. In the ABC News/Ipsos survey, respondents were asked if they agreed with the sentiment that if they worked hard they would “get ahead” in today’s America. Sixty-nine percent said the statement was no longer true in 2024. They were also asked if they felt the “American Dream” was always just a myth, and 18% agreed with that statement.

Since the first time Ipsos asked the same question back in a September 2010 poll, the figures have changed dramatically. Half of Americans polled still believed in the concept, despite the fact that the nation was still crawling out of the rubble of the 2008 housing crisis.

This latest data is one more sign of the declining state of the American economy under the Biden administration, and many Americans appear to be growing more disheartened with each passing year. How that will play out in the ballot box this year remains to be seen.