Pew: Latinos split on whether American dream is achievable

Four in 10 Latinos who believe the American dream exists say it is harder now than it was for their parents(CN) — A rising share of U.S. Latinos say the American dream has gotten harder to reach than it was for their parents, even as most still say they live better than the generation before them.That gap runs through a Pew Research Center survey released Tuesday, indicating 20% of Latino adults say they have achieved the dream and 33% say they are on the way. But almost as many say it is either out of reach (18%) or does not exist (27%).Among those who still believe in it, 43% say it is harder now than it was for their parents; 30% say it is easier. Pew found the reverse pattern in a 2016 phone poll, though it warns that a switch from phone to online surveys limits the comparison.Fifty-seven percent of Latinos say their standard of living is better than their parents’ was at the same age. Only 23% say it is worse. Looking forward, 53% expect their children to do better than they have; 14% expect worse.Immigrants appear to be the optimists. Seventy percent of Latino immigrants say they live better than their parents did, compared with 49% of U.S.-born Latinos. Sixty-three percent of immigrants expect their children to live better still. Among Latinos born in the U.S., that figure drops to 48%. Third-and-later-generation adults are the most skeptical: 52% say the dream has gotten harder.Seventy percent of Latino immigrants say they are better off than their parents, versus 59% of immigrants who are not Latino. Sixty-three percent expect better lives for their kids; among other immigrants, 35% do.When Pew asked people, in their own words, what the American dream means, money came first. About six in 10 tied it to financial security, economic opportunity or owning a home. Roughly four in 10 talked about a good life for themselves, their family or their community. Freedom, hard work and equal treatment came up less often.“A chance for upward social mobility,” said a late-20s immigrant woman of Cuban origin. “It means the pathway exists for someone to claw out of poverty.”“To own a house, be able to provide for your family a decent standard of living, be able to take good vacations,” responded a late-60s immigrant man of Nicaraguan origin.A U.S.-born man of Puerto Rican origin in his early 40s said, “the ability to live well and how you want.”An immigrant woman of Argentine origin in her late 20s reached for belonging, responding that her American dream is “to be part of the society and community of America, to contribute for the betterment of every other American that lives on the soil.”Belief in effort remains strong among those who think the dream exists. Eighty-one percent call hard work and motivation a major factor. Seventy-six percent say the same about access to the right opportunities. Only 35% put that weight on luck.People who feel they have arrived lean even harder on grit, while those who say the dream is out of reach are more likely to credit chance.Latino views of whether the dream is attainable line up roughly with other Americans. Twenty-eight percent of non-Hispanic adults say they have achieved it, 29% say they are on the way, 19% say it is out of reach, and 23% say it does not exist.The gap is not whether Latinos believe in the phrase, it is that more of them look at their parents and children and still see movement.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads