How Will Our Recession Change the American Dream?

Posted by marykeating on February 7, 2010 under Employment at will, Unemployment compensation | Be the First to Comment

The plight of unemployed workers is inextricably linked to the high rate of foreclosures.  These are not the stories of people who bought a house on credit that they could, under no fantasy, afford.  Those are the extremes, and were never destined to work out.

These are the stories of ordinary people squeezed by daily expenses, but making it until they were brought down by a prolonged period of unemployment.  They lose their houses, their credit is smashed, and when they finally get a new job, they remain insecure.  A recent New York Times article details only three such examples, but they are surely worth pondering as we see whether the American mindset will permanently change.  Our grandparents (or parents or great-grandparents) who lived through the Great Depression were more likely to believe in saving to the point of miserliness, buying nothing on credit, and putting by for retirement.  Yet, as the thirties turned into the forties and fifties, the post-war economy soared, social security was available, good private pensions abounded, and people took more risks.  Easier, perhaps, when a lifetime at one company was commonplace.

Now many well-educated, well-trained, hard-working people have lived the reality of employment at will.  They may not be able to afford a house again, or be able to handle the commitment required.  They know that loyalty to an employer is a one-way relationship.  Will their experiences change our priorities and choices, or will our native optimism prevent us from redefining the American dream?