The American Dream

In our first interview with qualitative participants during the OpenResearch unconditional cash study, we asked them what their hopes and dreams were for their future. Where do you see yourself in three to five years? What does your ideal life look like?

Some participants like Abbie, a single mother living in Texas, described traditional characteristics of the century old idea of the American dream. “I see me in a house with my partner and my children. And I see me being productive, working still, my kids older in school and living a good old life…I’ll still be working, hopefully that supervisor position. I think I’ll be so happy and healthy…I’ll just be, you know, living my American dream.”

Coined by historian James Truslow Adams, the “American Dream” once referred to "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement." For Abbie, her American dream looks like having a house, a job with opportunity for advancement, good health, and happiness for herself and her family. Though for many this traditional idea of the American dream is still very much desired, it is increasingly becoming just that—a dream. Listening to American dream reflections from participants it’s clear that the idea of the American dream has shifted for many from thriving to surviving. We hear participants describe their dream as not having to worry about feeding themselves and their families, having enough gas to get to work, making a liveable wage, having access to medical care, and peace of mind that they can meet their basic needs. This depiction is a far cry from “better and richer and fuller.”

In April of 2024, Pew Research Center surveyed Americans and found that 53% of people felt the American dream is still possible today, 41% of people felt the American dream was once possible but is no longer a reality, and 6% felt it was never possible. Older and higher-income Americans were the most likely to say it is still achievable today. Conversely, lower-income, younger adults—which align more closely with the demographics of study participants—are less likely to say the American dream is still possible.

Can anyone who works hard make it and be successful?

Central to the idea of the American dream is the belief that if someone works hard enough, through their own work and determination, they can be successful. We asked qualitative participants whether or not they agreed with this statement. Among participants who answered this question, roughly 40% said they believe this to be true, though many caveat their responses. For example, one participant told us, “I do believe that. I also believe it takes a village.” Another participant responded, “I think it's a hundred percent true. Now, there are certain economical stances, you know…aspects that can make it easier or harder but you know, there's always ways around it.”

Additionally, some participants who agreed with the idea in theory acknowledged that this did not necessarily align with their own experience. For example, Elise told us, “It's true. If you have the will, then you will do it; but if you don't want to work, then you're not going to have any money at all.” However when asked if this aligned with her experience she responded “not really,” bringing up the fact that she left her job in order to stay home and take care of her children. Although Elise says “this was a choice for me to stay home,” in prior interviews she described how, after working hard to get a certification in medical billing and coding and securing a job that she wanted, she was forced to leave the workforce after her youngest switched to part-time pre-K and Elise could not find childcare that would allow her to maintain employment.

We find instances of internal contradictions such as this throughout the data, where participants agree that anyone can work hard and make it in theory, yet their own statements or experiences seem in conflict with that belief. Some participants grappled out loud with that contradiction. For example Tara explained, “Despite me not thinking it's true, I very much operate in that mindset. If I work hard, I'm gonna be successful, I'm going to make it. I think it's a bit delusional actually, now that I said it out loud. To think that somehow it’s going to operate differently for me than what it does for the mass majority of the world. But I don't think it's going to change the fact that in an effort to get to where I want to be, I'm still gonna continue to work hard.”

Under certain conditions, maybe

For the majority of participants, the answer to this question was not straightforward. Though another ~15% of qualitative participants ultimately agreed with the statement, they acknowledged that it is not universally true and there are conditions which make it easier or more difficult for certain people: social connections, racial and gender identities, and socioeconomic status and upbringing. Some participants brought up factors like physical appearance, skin color, and gender identity. One participant, Winnie, felt her identity as a black woman made it harder for her to get ahead than for a white male, though she did still believe success was achievable for anyone. She told us, “I think anyone can be successful, but there are some people who have to work hard as hell…I'm working twice as hard as the next person. I tell you that. And that's what I've seen over my years…I've been in a male dominant workplace. And then also just being a black woman in a workplace…I could make it, but I just have to work hard as hell."

Natalie, a woman living in Illinois, shared Winnie’s belief that some people have to work harder than others to achieve success. Her parents, who immigrated to America from Mexico, had instilled in her the idea of the American dream. She explained, “I come from immigrant parents and I feel they always teach you to hustle and so whenever I get a new position, that's my mindset. I always hustle, hustle and I do really well, and I get promotions but I feel other people get promotions too without hustling as hard.” When asked if this idea—that anyone can work hard and make it—aligned with her experience, she explained, “If you hustle and you really pride yourself in your work ethic, I think that you can be successful. I think that if you're a race other than white, you have to hustle a little extra hard than a regular white person would hustle. I feel there still is, I guess, that opportunity, I know a lot of successful people that aren't just white, but I feel the hustle is a little extra for the people that aren't.”

Other participants talked about the importance of socioeconomic status and having access to resources and opportunities. Angel, a Hispanic participant living in Texas, described how economic barriers stood in the way of her success in the past, despite her efforts. “I feel like if you really apply yourself, you can, you can make it. Although sometimes there are things that stand in the way that make it harder, but that doesn't mean that they're completely impossible…sometimes it's like economics…like for me when I couldn't move up in any job that I had, I couldn't move up because I didn't have the transportation or like the money to afford transportation to get to this job to make a higher and livable wage.”

Still other participants emphasized the fact that who you know matters, the importance of having a support system, and in some instances, “it’s just luck.”

Then there were the roughly 45% of qualitative participants who answered this question with a resounding no, hard work is not enough for success. Many felt skeptical and some cynical at the idea that anyone who works hard can make it and be successful in America. For them, their personal experiences and observations suggest that this is an idealized vision that doesn’t reflect the current economic conditions or complex realities they have faced, though it may have been true in the past. “I think that that was true in the nineties, but I think the economy has changed drastically because I've worked hard, my girlfriend's worked hard, but we do not have enough money collectively to buy a house,” one participant explained.

Another participant, Sage, felt that the idea that one’s hard work can translate into success is the American dream, but it’s no longer a reality. “The American Dream. I think it is a dream. I don't think, the further along we go, that it's as obtainable as it used to be, maybe in the '80s or the '70s or the '50s. I think it's definitely changed. I don't think it's obtainable anymore. I really don't,” she told us. Garland, a participant living in Texas echoed her sentiments, “I can say that that's not a for sure stance anymore. While it used to be, you know, maybe 50 years ago or a little bit farther back, it's no longer anymore because of inflation.” He further explained, “My parents used to be able to work hard back in the ‘80s…I mean a car was like $10,000 and you could make a $100 a month payment or something. Now, you know, you have a car that's $35,000 and your payments are $500 a month, and you're already paying $500 a month for electricity.”

Many recipients connected the decline of the American dream with the rising cost of living and decades of wage stagnation. Tessa noted, “You work, you work hard to build something…savings for say, you know, a down payment or whatever. But by the time you build up the down payment, houses are 10 times more expensive than they were, than when you started. So, no, I really don't think that. I mean, it does play a part, but I don't think that it's just hard work alone that can determine whether or not you make it or you're successful.”

Another participant, Hannah, pointed out that some jobs do not pay enough to help people get ahead. “It just all goes back to how expensive everything is now and you can be a hard worker, but that doesn't mean anything if you're not getting paid enough to be able to make it in the economy right now…there are tons of jobs out there that will take advantage of people being a hard worker and still pay them the lowest pay they can pay them. So, they're not gonna end up getting ahead anywhere even though they dedicate themselves to their job.”

Despite pessimism regarding the current state of the American dream, some felt that perhaps it could become more of a reality if provided the right types of support. So we asked them what types of programs and policies they feel would be most helpful.

If policymakers were to ask you what kinds of programs or policies would be most helpful, what would you say?

Numerous qualitative participants indicated multiple areas of their lives where support was needed. Cheryl, for example, told us, “I think healthcare and housing and then food obviously. But I think those, those are the three basic—shelter, food, medical care—are the basic, the bare essentials, to even have a shot at thriving.” Though the type of program varied based on participants’ specific needs, a dominant underlying theme across responses was a desire to give people a fair shot at making ends meet for themselves and their families.

One participant, Maureen, emphasized lowering the cost of living. “Just making like, really what it comes down to is like everyone's standards of living a little bit more affordable…cost of health insurance, cost of prescriptions…I mean also just paying people a livable wage.” Maisie echoed this sentiment: “Our whole country, the economy's kind of not great right now (laughs), so if things costed less money, that would be great.” Multiple participants also expressed a desire to increase the minimum wage.

Another participant, Tessa, said, “Helping young people get into a home and build equity and wealth, instead of making them be lifelong renters, things like that. Like maybe some incentives for starting families because it's kind of de-incentivized with how expensive everything is…they always say, oh, you know, the population's dying. Well, yeah, no wonder why, because everything's so expensive and nobody can afford to have kids.”

We asked Tessa if she wanted to grow her family and she responded, “I would love to get married and have children, but unfortunately due to economic factors…this situation with the prices rising and homes being pretty unattainable that, uh, it's a lot harder.” She was not the only participant who expressed a desire to grow their family, but felt unable to due to their financial situations.

For parents, affordable child care was a common theme. “You know, I have to work 40 hours a week to be told that I make too much, but yet I'm still below the poverty level,” said one participant. “I'm going out to work, I'm putting all this effort and time in away from my kids, away from my house but yet I'm still unable to truly afford childcare. I'm still truly unable to afford food and, you know, or certain foods that could really benefit us. So I would say those would be my two big ones.” Even some participants who were not parents expressed the need for more affordable childcare, reflecting on how lack of access to childcare is a major barrier for many families.

From caps on college tuition and more affordable healthcare to lower rent and cheaper groceries, many participants described how these supports could restore the possibility that anyone who works hard can support themselves and their families. An underlying sentiment was that people want to be able to make it on their own. As one participant, Charlotte, articulated, “education, healthcare, better assistance. I mean…not even more assistance, but like better assistance. Like, you know, help people become more self-sufficient.”

Numerous participants drew on their experience receiving the unconditional cash to explain what was important to them in future programs and policies. Something we heard often was that recipients felt the unconditional cash provided a foundation of stability and security necessary to make it on their own. Many reflected on the increased agency they felt while receiving the cash, and voiced a desire for future programs that would provide similar support and stability, increasing the possibility they could do better for themselves and their families. For many, the unconditional cash provided them some hope that with the right type of support perhaps the American dream of economic mobility would not feel so out of reach.

Audio: Reflections from participants included in the audio are distinct from the qualitative interview data used in analysis for the written article. Audio content executive produced by Rebecca Sananès.