"We'll know the Achievement Gap is closed
when the diversity of our community
is reflected in the full continuum of
local employment occupations."

—Saint Paul NEAT

According to Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream Alive and Well? (June 2007), the American Dream unites us in a common quest for individual and national success. But new data suggest that this once solid ground may well be shifting. This raises provocative questions about the continuing ability of all Americans to move up the economic ladder and calls into question whether the American economic meritocracy is still alive and well.

Historically, Americans have believed that hard work and talent bring a just reward, and that our society is, and should be, constructed to provide equality of opportunity, not to guarantee equality of outcomes. Diligence and skill, the argument goes, will yield a fair distribution of rewards.

Consider three hypothetical societies:

• The meritocratic society. Those who work the hardest and have the greatest talent, regardless of class, gender, race, or other characteristics, have the highest income.
  
  
• The “fortune cookie” society. Where one ends up bears no relation to talent or energy, and is purely a matter of luck.
  
  
• The class-stratified society. Family background is all-important — children end up in the same relative position as their parents. Mobility between classes is little to nonexistent.

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New data from the Economic Mobility Project shows the United States has less relative mobility than many other developed countries. The Economic Mobility Project is a collaboration of The Pew Charitable Trusts, The American Enterprise Institute, The Brookings Institution, The Heritage Foundation and The Urban Institute. See especially:

• September 2008 - Pathways to Economic Mobility: Key Indicators - The assumption that anyone can get ahead based on capabilities and effort is central to the idea of the American Dream. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the factors that seem to affect the likelihood that someone will move up, or down, the economic ladder in the United States (Press Release), (Full Report).
  
  
• February 2008 - Getting Ahead Or Losing Ground: Economic Mobility in America - A comprehensive examination of the status of the American Dream, including data and analysis on education, wealth, international comparisons and trends over time (Press Release), (Full Report).
  
  »  Chapter 6: Economic Mobility of Black and White Families - The dream that one can rise up from humble beginnings and achieve a comfortable middle-class living, if not attain great wealth, transcends racial lines. But is this a reality for black and white families alike? (Chapter pdf)
  
  »  Chapter 7: Immigration: Wages, Education and Mobility - The American engine of economic assimilation continues to be a powerful force, but the engine is incorporating a fundamentally different and larger pool of immigrants than it did in earlier generations. The shifting educational and economic profile of today’s immigrants is provoking difficult and important questions about the economic prospects for immigrants in America today (Chapter pdf).
  
  »  Chapter 8: Education and Economic Mobility - Most Americans believe that the road to achieving the American Dream passes through the schoolhouse door.  This chapter examines evidence of the returns to schooling in the American economy, changes in the average level of education by various groups of Americans during the twentieth century, and the role of education and family background in promoting economic mobility (Chapter pdf).
  
  
• January 2008 - How Much Does the Federal Government Spend to Promote Economic Mobility and for Whom? - Many federal spending and tax expenditure or tax subsidy programs aim to enhance economic mobility. But exactly how much does the federal government encourage economic mobility? What form does this encouragement take? And who benefits from these efforts?