The American Dream ... is slipping away?

In his guest viewpoint, James Newton raises a number of debatable arguments regarding incomes in the private and public sectors, and in the teaching profession. 

To a large extent, the issues that Newton raises are a reflection of the rapidly changing economic structure, here in the United States and elsewhere.  Until perhaps the final two decades of the 20^th century, the American economic structure provided enough and more opportunities for the semi-skilled and the unskilled, also, to earn decent incomes, and this resulted in the much cherished “middle class.” 

However, as economic opportunities opened up initially to tens of millions in South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, and later on to hundreds of millions in China, India, and elsewhere, we have simultaneously witnessed a rapid decrease in the ability of semi-skilled and unskilled Americans to realize that middle class dream. 

It is no coincidence that the heyday of the American middle class correlated with a vast majority of humans on Earth living in horrible economic conditions.  It is not that the American society systematically kept the millions in Asia poor—it simply was the effects of the closed and tightly controlled economic structure and policies in most of the less developed countries that had gained independence from their colonial masters after the end of World War II. 

The world is now far less poorer because of phenomenal improvements elsewhere, which have also been triggered by countries opening up their societies to the outside world.  But, this also means that the American middle class is now under severe economic stress.  This is one of the side effects of hundreds of millions of Asians, and hopefully Africans too in the near future, rising above poverty. 

As a recent article in the Economist magazine notes, the result here in the US has been the loss of “manufacturing and number-crunching jobs that used to pay handsomely."  The article adds that the fading union power has been the effect of such occupational shifts. 

Newton argues that unionization in the public sector has been able to effectively counter this and, therefore, he contends that the public sector looks overpaid only because the “working class” in the private sector is underpaid.  But, unionization in the private sector will not prevent the occupational shifts that are bound to increase as economic growth and development further diffuse across the geographies of Asia and Africa.  Of course, the occupational shifts can be prevented by partially closing our economy from competition.  While such a strategy might deliver short-term results, it will cause long-term damages.

Finally, about the teaching profession itself, on which Newton builds his arguments.  Rare is the day that I do not think about the earnings that I have “lost” by giving up my education and training in electrical engineering, to be a professor in a highly resource-starved university system in a state where budget deficits seem to be permanent. 

But, in the history of humans, teaching has never been as lucrative a profession as it currently is.  While the teaching profession has always been highly respected practically anywhere on the planet, those positive sentiments did not always translate to comfortable lifestyles for teachers.  The economic fortunes of teachers—“gurus”—in the old India, for instance, depended on favors from kings and wealthy merchants.  And, it is doubtful whether teachers of yore could have freely expressed their opinions, particularly outside their “classroom,” without a fear of having their heads chopped off. 

Perhaps Newton might argue that this was all a result of unionization of teachers.  But, this is merely a result of the liberal democratic societies in which a good proportion of humans live.  After all, even now, how many Chinese or Saudi Arabian faculty members can freely write op-eds critiquing their government or leaders without worrying about getting thrown in jail, or worse?

At the end of it all, as concerned citizens, we have a responsibility to worry about the increasingly uncertain economic futures that lie ahead for the younger generations who also dream about leading successful American middle class lives.  We ought to worry that our elected leaders do not seem to care that unemployment continues to be high.  But, unionization in the private sector is not sufficient to ensure a continuation of the idea of the American Dream.