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The American dream needs an update
A rejuvenated version is necessary to rebuild the shattered political centre.
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A Pew poll published in July found that only 53 per cent of Americans still believe there is an American dream – while 41 per cent say it used to exist but has now crumbled.
PHOTO: AFP
Gillian Tett
In the coming months, an audacious initiative will emerge on the doorstep of the mighty US Treasury. A collection of (mostly) business donors are remodelling three historic buildings to create a museum that will champion the “American dream”. To populate this, the Milken Institute is recording interviews with 10,000 people about their experiences of that dream. In the words of one key donor, it is intended to provide a “beacon of hope”.
No doubt some Democrats will wince. The project is spearheaded by Mr Michael Milken, the financier turned philanthropist who infamously invented the junk bond market in the 1980s, before pleading guilty to securities violations. In 2020, he was pardoned by then President Donald Trump.
