Not since the 1920s has the United States experienced such topsy- turvy economic change. During the current decade, the nation has witnessed a deep recession, a roaring bull market, instant Wall Street tycoons, bankrupt Texas oilmen, millionaire baseball players, a wave of farm foreclosures, Yuppies, and unemployed steelworkers. Who has gained, who has lost are matters of intense debate.
This year, politicians and academics ponder a "shrinking middle class" (variously defined) and a seemingly permanent black and white "underclass" (also variously defined). Are the losses of high-wage factory jobs and federal cuts in college aid hurting individual opportunities to get ahead? In short, is upward mobility-a key element of the American Dream-in a sudden decline?