The American Dream has been alive for Gonzalo Schwarz, Archbridge President and CEO, ever since he first thought of moving to the United States. But after immigrating, he found that more and more of his adopted countrymen have lost faith in the Dream. Examining recent evidence, Gonzalo assesses whether the American Dream is alive and well, fading, or nonexistent.
Archbridge Director of Programs Ben Wilterdink argues for the importance of soft skills in our increasingly service-based economy. With minimum wage increases and helicopter parenting becoming the norm, Wilterdink argues that children and young adults are missing opportunities to gain the soft skills that employers want in today’s labor market.
INTERSTATE COMPACTS AREN’T THE RIGHT W
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Secretary of Labor Acosta and South Dakota Governor Daugaard outline their plan for interstate compacts that allow holders of an occupational license in one state to receive a temporary license for that occupation when moving to another state within the compact. Archbridge Director of Policy Research Ben Wilterdink explains why this does nothing to resolve the barriers to mobility caused by occupational licensing.
Is the American Dream dead for young Americans? Dr. Edward Timmons of Saint Francis University and coauthor of Barriers to Mobility, says there are good arguments that it may not be as bleak as it seems. Economists agree, however, that many poor children remain poor in adulthood. Timmons examines the growth of occupational licensing as a possible cause.
Entrepreneurship and economic mobility go hand in hand. Policy solutions aimed to alleviate poverty should take into account the power of entrepreneurship in allowing people the opportunity to climb the income ladder. President and CEO Gonzalo Schwarz makes this case utilizing the latest research.
Ben Wilterdink, Director of Outreach and Policy Research, reviews Dream Hoarders by Richard V. Reeves, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. By focusing on relative economic mobility, Reeves determines that the advantages upper middle class parents give their children are disadvantaging other children. Wilterdink asserts that Reeves’s focus is misplaced: Public policy should aim to increase absolute economic mobility.
