Foreword

This foreword is written by Strobe Talbot, President of The Brookings Institution, and Rebecca W. Rimel, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Since our nation's founding, the promise of economic opportunity has been a central component of the American Dream. An economy that grew to be the world's biggest and most dynamic also held out the promise that hard work, vision, and risk-regardless of family background-would be rewarded. Perhaps the most remarkable byproduct of the American economic expansion over the past century has been steady growth in the share of Americans who have been able to achieve a comfortable life and have every hope of seeing their children do even better. While the American Dream remains a unifying cultural tenet for an increasingly diverse society, it may be showing signs of wear. Growing income inequality and slower economic growth suggest that now is an important moment to review the facts about opportunity and mobility in America and to attempt to answer the basic question: Is the American Dream alive and well?

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