Since 2017 the average household income in the U.S. has grown 38%, but childcare in the same period has risen by 40%, rents by 50%, and home prices by 80%. Even the lowest-cost healthcare insurance plan offered by the Affordable Care Act has increased by 41%, according to the Urban Institute’s latest figures from October in its The American Affordability Tracker. This report also found that many areas that traditionally have a slightly lower costs of living had experienced larger jumps in prices.
A July Wall Street Journal/NORC poll found that only 25% of Americans believe that their standard of living will improve—the lowest figure since this poll started in 1987. Some 75% believe that the next generation will find worse conditions. Almost 70% of Americans said they believe the American dream—that if you work hard, you will get ahead—no longer holds true. This level of discontent crosses all demographic lines—men and women, young and old, people with or without college degrees and with household income above or below $100,000 per year.
