With Rising Inequality, the American Dream Needs a Reboot

I published an edited conversation with economist Kathryn Anne Edwards to explore the fundamental myth that working hard and playing by the rules will result in the American Dream. Whether it’s the promise of rags-to-riches or at least financial stability, peace of mind and hope for the future, that dream is becoming out of reach for too many.

My goal was to help readers see more clearly how policymakers have built, and maintained, a system that leaves many behind. I wanted to expose the false narratives that leaders use to justify the system, that wealth or poverty comes down to individual choices. By understanding how the economy really works, we can make very different policy choices and create a fairer, more hopeful, and inclusive version of the American Dream.

Sample Reader Comments

• “Do you want universal childcare and universal school meals? If the answer is no, you are for inequality because you want certain kids to have a head start, and you want it to be determined by how much money their dads have. So, if that’s how you feel, you don’t want the American Dream. You want yours and to pull up the ladder behind you.”
• “We Americans love success, but we also love fairness. And so the question is, are people who are successful today the result of a fair or unfair process?”