Is the American Dream Dead?

There’s a growing sentiment in this country that the “American Dream” – the ability to overcome one’s social class through hard work and perseverance – is dying. Many studies, like this one for example, support that position, claiming that the United States has less social mobility than many other civilized nations. While some people, for example every Presidential candidate ever, claim that the American Dream is alive and well, many smart people are beginning to feel the opposite. One of those smart people is Columbia professor and Nobel Prize-winner Joseph Stiglitz. When asked about the American Dream recently, Stiglitz had this to say:

By Tom Z

October 5, 2012