So much for the American Dream. Most Californians don’t believe it exists, survey says

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

CALIFORNIANS HAVE A DISMAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK, SURVEY SAYS

Californians are in a gloomy mood at the moment.

The latest survey from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California finds that just a third (33%) of Californians still believe in the American Dream, the idea that if you work hard, you’ll get ahead. The rest either believe it isn’t true anymore (52%) or never was to begin with (15%).

Republicans (39%) are more likely to say that the American Dream is still true, while only 32% of Democrats and 29% of independents believe it to be so.

Among ethnic demographics, 42% of Asian Americans believe in the American Dream, compared to 32% of whites, 30% of Latinos and 24% of African Americans.

Unsurprisingly, the wealthier you are the more likely you are to believe in the American Dream. Households making more than $80,000 a year were 37% likely to agree with that assessment, while 29% of those making between $40,000 and $79,999 and 24% of those making less than $40,000 agreed.

The survey found that Californians are skeptical that things will improve anytime soon.

Seven in 10 Californians said they think children growing up today will be worse off financially than their parents. The finding includes strong majorities across political parties, ethnic groups and income levels.

More than half (56%) said that the state’s near-term economic outlook is going to be bad.

CALIFORNIANS WORRY ABOUT AI

Californians with jobs are worried that AI is going to take it away from them.

Half of employed Californians said they think artificial intelligence will lead to fewer jobs being available for humans. Just 10% think AI will lead to more jobs in their field.

A third (33%) said that they worry that AI will lead to them losing their job or getting fewer hours of work.

Another worry Californians have? Housing.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of survey respondents said they worry about the cost of housing their families. That number rises to 42% for those making less than $40,000 a year.

CALIFORNIANS FAVOR JOB TRAINING, CHILD CARE AND STRONG UNIONS

So what’s to be done about all this?

Well, one thing Californians would like to see is more public funding for job training and child care.

Most likely voters (79%) said they favor increased government funding for job training; that includes 91% of Democrats, 78% of independents and 59% of Republicans.

Three-quarters of likely voters said that they also support increased government funding for child care programs for lower-income working parents. That includes 89% of Democrats, 73% of independents and 49% of Republicans.

Californians also believe that strong unions are necessary.

Seven in 10 Californians said that they support the right of workers to organize. That includes 87% of Democrats, 68% of independents and 57% of Republicans. Even more Californians (83%) said they agree that it is important for workers to organize to keep employers from taking advantage of them. That includes 92% of Democrats, 79% of independents and 67% of Republicans.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Elon Musk has long hated public transit, which he thinks carries a bunch of ‘serial killers.’ He instead wants everyone to drive a car (preferably a Tesla). Now he has actual government power & is trying to kill off California’s high speed rail project. It’s called killing off the competition.”

- Sen.. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, discussing The Bee’s story on the DOGE targeting California high-speed rail for defunding, via Bluesky.

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