Reclaiming the American dream.

Until recently, the economic history of America had been a history of upward mobility on the part of a broad and growing middle class. In many other lands, the middle class was virtually nonexistent, if it existed at all. Almost everybody was consigned to the lower class, with little hope of ever being able to climb out of poverty to join the ranks of the fortunate few who possessed most of the wealth and all of the political power.

But not here in America! America was a land of milk and honey not only for a fortunate few but for ordinary citizens willing to work hard and to convert their dreams for a better life into reality. The upward mobility of ordinary citizens was widespread and long-lasting. Each generation of Americans achieved a higher standard of living for themselves and their families than the previous generation.

Achieving that middle-class standard of living became widely known as the American dream. In the 1950s, that dream was so attainable that a young man with no more than a high-school education could earn enough money to support a family. In those days it was common for the wife to stay home and be a full-time mother. And that family, with a single breadwinner, could still afford to buy a home--the quintessential symbol of the American dream.

Long before the 1950s, however, America had already risen from a largely agricultural nation carved out of a wilderness to become the envy of the collectivist old world. No, in America the streets were not paved with gold. But jobs were plentiful, and so were opportunities to move up the ladder in existing enterprises or to create new businesses and new jobs. In America, to a much greater extent than any other place on Earth, a young person starting off dirt poor could apply his talents and pull himself up by the bootstraps to achieve middle-class status and beyond.

But times are changing, and they are not changing for the better. These days it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain middle-class status, even with both the husband and the wife in the workforce. The jobs enabling breadwinners to support a family are disappearing.

Lower-paying jobs serve an important function in our economy, of course, in terms of aiding young Americans and others without the "tickets" to enter the workforce and earn some money while they acquire the skills and the education they need to get the higher-paying jobs enabling them to achieve a piece of the American dream. But the lower-wage jobs, from flipping burgers at a fast-food restaurant to stocking shelves in a grocery store, do not pay enough to support a family.

Young Americans, instead of optimistically looking to the future, are becoming increasingly worried that their standard of living may fall below that of their parents. For them, the American dream, which had been so achievable for their parents and grandparents, now appears elusive.

The recent downward trend can be reversed, and America can get back on track. Wrongheaded government policies have caused America's recent slide from greatness, and those policies can be changed. The articles in this issue of THE NEW AMERICAN describe the devastating consequences of some of the wrongheaded policies and provide solutions. We encourage all readers to become better informed, and to make America once again a place where we can provide a better life for our children.