What is the 'American Dream' today?

A new report from the Center for the Study of the American Dream shows that even while Americans distrust the government, they have faith in the American Dream.

Michael Ford, founding director of Xavier University's Center for the Study of the American Dream, will join The Daily Circuit Monday to discuss the report.

"I spent 35 years in politics and discovered that the American Dream is really the one unifying idea that anybody of any ideological political leaning could relate to," he said. "And I thought this is probably something worth trying to understand."

Faith in every institution has declined, except for the military, Ford said.

"Politics, government, business, media, religion, you can look at any of those and it's declined," he said. "People feel abandoned because these institutions used to be partners in dream achievement. How can we think the government is trustworthy when we have 80 percent of Americans who don't trust our basic institutions? What this means is the dream doesn't stop, but how you get there is complicated now or different."

What does 'The Dream' really mean, and how has it changed in the current economic state? We take a look at how the American Dream has transformed, and why our idea of 'The Dream' may not match up with America's current reality.

Tamara Draut, vice president of policy and programs at Demos, will also join the discussion.

"I define the American Dream as the idea that demographics are not destiny, being born to a poor family doesn't decide your future," she said. "On those things I'm pretty sure that people now see that we've had a real breakdown in the American dream. We're in a vicious cycle where we need the government to reinvigorate the dream and yet we've lost faith as a people that government can make that possible. It's very troubling."

KERRI'S TAKEAWAY

You can't impose what the American Dream is on the next generation. It changes; there is no narrative.

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