By David Vannostran
The American Dream
Prosperity, Wages, Prices, Policy, and the Changing Promise of America
An examination of prosperity, opportunity, and the cost of independence across generations.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle
Available editions
Paperback$19.99
ISBN: 979-8-90733-577-6
Hardcover$29.99
ISBN: 979-8-90733-578-3
Kindle$9.99
Digital edition
Prices shown in U.S. dollars. Amazon prices and availability may vary.
At a glance
Questions this book explores
- What is this book about?
- An examination of wages, prices, housing, and public policy, exploring the cost of an independent life across generations.
- Who is it for?
- Readers interested in wages, prices, housing, household independence, economic history, and the changing promise of prosperity.
- What central question does it ask?
- Has material progress made an independent life easier to achieve, or have its essential costs moved farther out of reach?
About the book
The promise.
The evidence.
The generations.
Was the American Dream easier to achieve in previous generations, or are Americans materially richer today while the essentials of independence have become harder to afford?
The American Dream follows nearly nine decades of American economic history, from the late New Deal and World War II through postwar prosperity, globalization, the financial crisis, and the inflation of the 2020s.
At its heart is a distinction between the standard of living and the cost of independence. Advances in technology, medicine, and consumer choice sit alongside the costs of housing, education, healthcare, childcare, and debt.
The book weighs competing political and economic arguments against household outcomes, asking a consistent question: Compared with what?
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