The American Dream is Now a Coin Flip: Here's Why and What We Can Do (#287)

The American Dream promises that hard work leads to a better life. But for many children today, that promise depends less on effort and more on where they grow up.Raj Chetty, a Harvard professor and the founder of Opportunity Insights, has spent years following millions of lives to understand what truly drives economic mobility. His findings challenge long-held assumptions about opportunity in America.If the American Dream has started to feel like a coin flip, what’s quietly shaping the odds? And what would it take to give more children a real chance to get ahead?In this conversation, we explore why neighborhoods matter more than we think and how expanding opportunity could strengthen not just individual lives, but the country as a whole.See his new paper Creating High Opportunity Neighborhoods.