Posted on March 22, 2009

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Despite Recession, Americans Optimistic About Economic Mobility, Report Finds

Nearly 80 percent of Americans believe it is still possible to improve their economic standing and remain optimistic that their family's economic circumstances will improve within their lifetime and across generations, a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts' Economic Mobility Project finds.

Based on findings from ten focus groups and a national poll of 2,119 adults, the report, Findings from a National Survey & Focus Groups on Economic Mobility (24 pages, PDF), found that optimism existed across racial lines as well as among lower-income, less-educated, and unemployed individuals. As a group, African American respondents were the most optimistic about the prospect of upward economic mobility for themselves and their children, with 85 percent of those surveyed saying that their economic circumstances will be better in ten years than they are now, compared to 71 percent of whites and 77 percent of Hispanics.

Similarly, almost three-quarters (72 percent) of the individuals polled believe their personal economic circumstances will be better in the next ten years than they are today, while 62 percent of parents said their children will have a higher standard of living than they have. Most of the respondents defined the American dream as the freedom to accomplish anything you want through hard work or having future generations do better than their parents.

Although many of those polled said the government currently does more to hurt than help people trying to move up the economic ladder, a majority expressed support for a wide range of policies the government could adopt to encourage upward mobility, including making college more affordable, investing in early childhood education, making saving for retirement easier, and providing job training and financial education. In addition, 71 percent of respondents said personal attributes such as hard work and drive are more important to economic mobility than structural issues such as the state of the economy and one's economic circumstances growing up.

"Although the current economic crisis seems to be deepening each day and many families are feeling the pinch — either through company layoffs, decreasing home values, or loss of retirement savings — Americans are taking a longer-term view," said John E. Morton, managing director of economic policy at Pew. "We may be struggling in our daily lives, but Americans are confident in themselves and their ability to get ahead in the future."

“Pew-Commissioned Poll Finds Americans Optimistic About Prospects for Economic Mobility Despite the Recession.” Pew Charitable Trusts Press Release 3/12/09.

Primary Subject: Public Affairs
Location(s): National

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