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 e-mail

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

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Percent of earnings

Wages

Social security

Retirement

Paid leave

Health care

Other

Growing Inequalities

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1980 2000

AverageCEO Payvs.AverageHourlyWorker

In 1976, the top 10% owned 50% of the wealth; today they own 70%.

In 1978-80, the ratio of the family income of the top 20% to bottom 20% was 7.4%. In 1998-00, 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 21st Century:Who Works

The median age of the labor force is rising: almost 41 by 2008

60% 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

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Percent of Workers

AsianHispanicBlackWhite

Education and Work

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35

Percent of Work Force

Less than highschool

High Schoolgraduate, no college

Less than aBachelors degree

Bachelors degree

More than BA

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”