TO the American Dream …

The American dream of owning a home, having a stable job, and obtaining a sound education, is alive today. However, the dream is under stress, which our policymakers must address at the federal, state, and local levels before the dream perishes.

Fighting for good-paying jobs and an economy that works for everyone is a top priority.  Having champions for small and large businesses, fair wages, good benefits for workers from all walks of life, skills training, and more manufacturing jobs in America is a must-do.

Although the job market appears to be improving, several key indicators are concerning:

• It now takes two wage earners to generate the same revenue needed to fund and operate a household, which only a generation ago only took one wage earner to accomplish.

• Nearly two million people have dropped out of the job market since the pandemic and thus are not being adequately accounted for in the nation’s reported unemployment rate.

• The overall share of the population participating in the labor force has dropped noticeably.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that companies of every size and industry across nearly every state face unprecedented challenges in finding enough workers to fill open jobs. According to their latest data, there are 9.5 million job openings in the United States, but only 6.5 million unemployed workers.  The Chamber also notes that if every unemployed person in the country found a job, there would still be nearly 2.4 million open jobs to fill. 

Other interesting trends from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce should be noted as well from a 2022 survey they conducted with unemployed workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic:

• Two-thirds of Americans who lost their full-time jobs during the pandemic told the Chamber they are only somewhat active or are inactive in searching for a new job. 

• About half say they are unwilling to take jobs that do not offer remote work opportunities. 

• More than a quarter say it will never again be essential for them to return to work. 

• Nearly one in five have altered their livelihood, with 17% reporting they have retired, 19% have transitioned to homemaker, and 14% are now working part-time.

• Twenty-four percent say government aid packages during the pandemic have incentivized them not actively to look for work.

• And younger respondents, aged 25-34, report prioritizing personal growth over searching for a job right now; 36% say they’re more focused on acquiring new skills, education, or training before re-entering the job market. 

Homeownership in the United States, vital to a sound personal life, is also rebounding from the 2004 foreclosure crisis, the Great Recession of 2008, and the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, thanks to those age 44 and younger, according to a recent Census Bureau survey.

The Census Bureau survey finds that younger households are typically more likely to rent than own homes. Nevertheless, homeownership among adults under age 55 went up from 2016 to 2022 but remained stable among older populations. Homeownership rates rose in all regions of the U.S. from 2019 to 2022, and homeownership increased among all racial and ethnic groups in the same period.

Our American Dream Priorities

To help improve these opportunities for Americans, we focus on the following initiatives that are of importance to our party:

• Being an unwavering advocate for small and large businesses and higher-paying wages for workers who can help those businesses flourish.

• Insisting that women get equal pay for equal work.

• De-regulating and over-regulated society.

• Ensuring higher paying jobs for K-12 teachers and community first responders.

• Making sure that businesses have trained workers through more federal investments in the trades and cost-reduced or free community college education, which are needed for finding good-paying jobs and generating higher tax revenues from better-paying jobs for the federal coffer. Children from low- and middle-income families should not be burdened with thousands of dollars in debt to get a college degree.

• Encouraging high technology-anchored manufacturing jobs and infrastructure repairs and expansion that will also create tens of thousands of American jobs.

• Strongly opposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare to ensure a secure retirement for every American.

• Providing paid family leave for new parents, daycare for two wage earner households, and caring for sick immediate family members.

• Lowering the cost of childcare and universal pre-K regardless of one’s zip code provides a good start on their education and grants parents much-needed and -deserved relief for childcare, which is often too expensive for households to receive.

• Helping grow our energy industry by advancing solar and wind energy technologies.

• Expanding investment in high-speed internet in rural as well as suburban and urban neighborhoods so that every community in America has access to information, business and education opportunities, and global markets.

• Supporting President Biden’s proposed $10,000 tax credit for new homeowners to offset the high price of mortgages.

• Continuing to invest in law enforcement so that our neighborhoods remain safe and secure for the families who reside in those communities, regardless of location.

By investing in and prioritizing good-paying jobs, safe neighborhoods, sound education, and affordable healthcare, America will have a powerful engine for obtaining a promising future for those who want to share the American dream.