American Dream no longer within reach for younger generations: Crawford
From Gen X and Millennial to Gen Z and Alpha, the message repeated during our upbringing into adulthood: head down, get educated, get the job—then The American Dream will be yours. That formula worked for those who came of age during the United States’ economic “golden era,” from the New Deal through the late 20th century. But today, that promise is increasingly out of reach across the country and here in New Hampshire. If the solution was simple, like giving up avocado toast and smartphones, perhaps we too could have the picket fence and two kids—but the reality is rooted in a system that has been long developing against working people.
A defining feature of The American Dream has been the idea that each generation performs better than the last. In NH, that once was overwhelmingly true. The Equality of Opportunity Project found that NH natives born in the 1940s had a 93% chance of earning more than their parents. By the 1980s, that number fell to around 50%. This trend is absolutely continuing. What that tells us: from Gen X to today, you have less than a coin flip’s chance to achieve a standard of living comparable to your parents.
Homeownership tells a similar story. The National Association of Realtors shared that in 2024, the median buying age of a home was 56 years old. In 1991, the median age was closer to 30. Before, young people entering professional adulthood could purchase a home. Thirty years later, this opportunity is delayed by decades or vanished entirely.
And yet, metrics like GDP and DOW tell us the US economy is flourishing. But for who? While these metrics grow, the share attained by working people has not. The Economic Policy Institute found that between 1979 to 2025, worker productivity grew 92.4%. Meanwhile, pay only increased by 33.6%. In simple numbers, workers generated $2.70 in new economic value–but saw only $1.00 of it in their paychecks. You might ask: where is the fruit of economic growth going if not to workers’ paychecks? it’s going to the highest-earning corporate leaders, executives, and owners of stocks and securities.
In the 1980s, a new tax philosophy said if you reduce taxes on the wealthiest, this will spur wage growth for workers. We know this as “trickle down” economics. Decades later, the results are clear: this theory doesn’t match reality. The Pew Research Center found that in 1970, upper-class households held 29% of US aggregate income; meanwhile, the middle-class held 62%. By 2018, the upper-class now owns 48% of income, surpassing the middle-class who now holds 43%.
In New Hampshire, policy choices out of Concord over the last decade follow a similar path of destruction. Cuts to corporate taxes since 2015 reduced state revenue between $795 million and $1.17 billion (New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute). Additionally, the elimination of the Interest and Dividends Tax removed $113 million from NH revenue, while saving $11,900 for households earning over $2.2 million/year (NHFPI). Most recently, legislators opened up this year's session with another corporate tax cut through HB 155 (NH Bulletin). These policies overwhelmingly benefit the highest earners of NH. But what about that promise of higher wages trickling down to the rest of us? In 2025, NH wages fell 2.2% against inflation—the 3rd time in four years (NHFPI). Employers also hired fewer people in 2025. The bottomline: tax cuts from the top have not delivered higher wages or better job prospects. Then of course, we still need to fund education, infrastructure, emergency services, etc.. When state revenue is reduced, the burden doesn’t disappear. It shifts. In New Hampshire, that shift shows up in property taxes, which already make up a disproportionate share of how we fund public services. And those taxes don’t fall evenly.
Low-income Granite Staters pay between ~5.9%–8.9% of their income in property taxes while the wealthiest pay just ~2%–4.2%. (NHFPI).
Recent NH tax policy exacerbates the challenges faced by current generations. Driving up property taxes, pushing homeownership out of reach, and straining already tight budgets of workers earning less than their parents. The American Dream we were promised from childhood is now behind an unscalable wall. A wall made of tax cuts for the wealthiest and a system that prioritizes shareholder growth over working people.
Restoring that promise means restoring the opportunities our parents’ and grandparents once had. In NH, that starts by shifting back part of the burden of funding away from working people—who continue to receive less of their own economic output—back to the few at the top who continue to see their money piles grow larger. We should invest in the people who power our economy and ensure they get a share of the prosperity they create.
New Hampshire native Taylor Crawford lives in Farmington with his wife, Jessica. He has a degree in economics and works as an account manager for a manufacturing company.
