Is the American Dream Dead?

The American Dream that has existed in this country for over 50 years is on life support. For some Americans, it may already be dead.

People demonstrate outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York City on April 4, 2009. Hundreds of protesters gathered in the financial district on the second day of a two-day rally against Wall Street and the government bailout of banks and financial institutions. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The American Dream that has existed in this country for over 50 years is on life support. For some Americans, it may already be dead.

While recent consumer confidence surveys indicate that Americans seem somewhat optimistic about the overall economy, most polls and studies show that we are anxious about our own economic futures.

Many Americans no longer seem to believe that they will ever be financially secure or stable. The belief that you can succeed financially with hard work and determination has been a core tenet of the American Dream. Now more than three-quarters of all Americans believe that downward mobility is more likely than upward mobility.

Americans, especially males, no longer seem to believe that hard work and determination is enough to achieve financial success.