Is The American Dream Still Alive In Greater Boston

New Public Opinion Survey Finds Optimism, Concern for the Future

BOSTON ( October 25, 2006 ) – Is the dream of educational, social and economic opportunity getting harder for working class and low-income families to achieve? A new survey released today by United Way of Massachusetts Bay reveals that Greater Boston residents tend to believe the American Dream is somewhat broken (67%) and that it is harder to achieve today than it was just ten years ago (76%). But the survey also finds that despite these views, Greater Boston residents tend to be slightly more optimistic about the American Dream than Americans elsewhere in the country.

“This survey shows that when it comes to achieving the American Dream, the glass is half-full in Greater Boston,” said Milton J. Little, Jr., president and chief executive officer at United Way of Massachusetts Bay. “As a community, we can continue to fill that glass by making a collective commitment to remove the barriers that are keeping people from climbing the ladder of self-sufficiency and success.”

The survey was conducted by Opinion Dynamics for United Way as part of its Living the Dream series, a partnership with Bank of America and Northeastern University that aims to jump-start the dialogue, engage the citizenry and begin creating a community blueprint charting the action steps and community groups necessary to make social, economic and educational opportunities available to everyone in Greater Boston. United Way commissioned the survey to better inform this work and gain an understanding of Bostonians’ perspective of the state of the American Dream and what residents see as today’s biggest obstacles to achieving it.

Most (68%) Greater Boston residents feel they are personally achieving the American Dream. This finding, and comparisons with a national survey* which found that 61% of Americans say they are not living the American Dream, suggest that Boston area residents believe the American Dream is healthier here than elsewhere in the country.

However, even among many of those who are currently achieving the American Dream, there is a sense that it may be fading. Several survey findings suggest that many of those who are currently achieving the American Dream do not see it as a lasting dream. First, a majority (59%) of those who are achieving the dream say it is somewhat broken. And in addition to feeling it is somewhat broken, their expectations for the future indicate they do not expect the American Dream to be fixed—three-quarters (75%) of those achieving the American Dream think it will be harder for the next generation to do so.

Further, those who are not currently achieving the American Dream are not optimistic they will do so in their lifetime. Most (69%) of those who say they are not achieving the American Dream do not think they will do so in their lifetime. In addition, those not currently achieving the American Dream overwhelmingly (83%) think it will be even harder for the next generation to achieve the American Dream.

“While the fact that most area residents feel they are achieving the American Dream is certainly encouraging, the outlook among those not achieving the American Dream is somewhat alarming,” said Chris Anderson, senior researcher at Opinion Dynamics Corporation. “These findings point to a calcification of the American Dream, where those left out are losing hope that either they or their children can achieve the American Dream.”

The survey by Opinion Dynamics of 600 Massachusetts adults living within the Greater Boston area was conducted by telephone between the dates of October 6 and 16, 2006. Over-sampling was used to enable analysis of results by race. The overall results have a margin of error of ± 4.6% at a 95% confidence interval.

Other survey highlights include:

• Access to quality, affordable education is viewed as essential to achieving the American Dream. Greater Boston residents view access to quality education as the single most important factor to achieving the American Dream. Fully 92% of residents rate access to quality education as very important to achieving the American Dream. When asked to select the most important factor to achieving the American Dream, a plurality of residents select access to quality education (42%), with equal opportunity for people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds selected the next most frequently (15%).

• Access to education is also seen as the biggest obstacle to achieving the American Dream, with financial issues a close second. When asked to name the single biggest barrier children born in the Boston area today will face in trying to reach the American Dream, issues related to the cost and quality of education (30%) are the most common responses. The cost of living/housing expenses in the area (23%) and problems with the local economy (19%) are also top reasons.

• This is not to suggest that education is viewed as the only important aspect of achieving the American Dream. Three-quarters of residents also rated access to affordable health care, equal opportunity for people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, fair and equal enforcement of laws, freedom of speech and political or religious expression, children having as many opportunities as their parents and the ability to save money as very important to achieving the American Dream.

• Boston area residents with lower household incomes and lower educational attainment are less likely than other residents to say they are achieving the American Dream. Among those with a high school education or less, 57% say they are achieving the American Dream, compared to 73% of those with more education. Household income has a larger effect—54% of those with household incomes under $50,000 say they are achieving the American Dream, compared to 74% with higher incomes.

• Views and achievement of the American Dream in the Boston area also vary by race. Latinos (39%) are more likely than whites (29%) or blacks (17%) to say the American Dream is alive and well. Latinos (68%) and whites (69%) are more likely than black residents (50%) to say they are achieving the American Dream.

About Living the Dream

United Way’s Living the Dream series will bring together leaders and experts from business, government, education, and the community to hold panel discussions on seven of today’s most pressing social issues—Access to Technology, Education, Employment, Diversity, Health Care, Housing, and Justice—all issues that people face when trying to enter the economic mainstream. Preceding each of these more targeted conversations, a “framing paper” will be created by Northeastern University to outline the issues and the challenges, charging each of the seven panel discussions with generating clear action items to help drive progress. Similarly, following each panel, there will be an “outcome paper” that details the agenda, highlights, and strategies for next steps detailed at that program.

At the conclusion of the series of specific panels, Living the Dream will become an annual community event. Each year, this forum will serve as a time to report back on progress on providing access to the American Dream. For more information, please visit www.uwmb.org/livingthedream/

*A survey of 1,206 voters commissioned by The Aspen Institute during the summer of 2006. It should be noted that the national survey was conducted among voters, while the Greater Boston poll is adult population. The poll results as presented at the Aspen Ideas Festival are available online at:
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/atf/cf/{DEB6F227-659B-4EC8-8F84-8DF23CA704F5}/Schoen_poll_2006.pdf