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The “American Dream” has seen better days. Is it any coincidence that the Labor movement’s most glorious moments seemed to go hand in hand with America’s most shining and hopeful times? The following is from Robyn Blumner’s editorial this past Sunday:

American social and economic mobility had a bright, shining moment in the middle of the 20th century, but it is retreating with accelerating speed.

Where once America was about working one’s way from the mailroom to the corner office; where once it was a place where Thomas Jefferson’s “natural aristocracy” of virtue and talent could flourish; where once existed a Horatio Alger mecca; now lives another parable: about a wastrel who indulges in frat-boy hijinks at Yale, uses family connections to escape Vietnam, fails at business opportunities that come along thanks to friends of Dad, drinks to excess until 40, then becomes president.

If you have the right family name, you’ve got chances galore in life. For everyone else, well, let’s just say that I doubt HarperCollins is offering your 25-year-old daughter a reported $300,000 for her first book, like it has for Jenna Bush’s UNICEF experiences.

America is still living off its reputation as a meritocracy where working hard can earn you a piece of the American Dream, but the economic realities are telling a different story. (Read the rest of this news editorial)

If you see the value in restoring the ability of everyday Americans to reach that long lost dream, click here to find out more about the EFCA, and how it could help bring back some of our nation’s former glory.

Filed under: politics, poverty and wealth, unionism