The American Dream has become increasingly elusive for millions of people as the wealth gap in the country has grown. How can working-class Americans support their families and achieve goals like home ownership, good health care and some savings in a society that is more reliant on college degrees—out of reach for many—as a measure of success? These questions are central to NEWSWEEK Opinion Editor Batya Ungar-Sargon’s book, SECOND CLASS: HOW THE ELITES BETRAYED AMERICA’S WORKING MEN AND WOMEN. In this excerpt from her book, she discusses the uphill climb workers without a college degree face in trying to reach middle-class milestones, and some solutions to the problem.
NICOLE DAY HAS NEVER FOUND IT HARD TO find a job—maybe because it was never an option not to. She has always worked hard to support herself and her son. She’s been a job. The good jobs demand a college degree, even for work that doesn’t use any skills you’d pick up in college. It’s happened more than once that she’s been forced to train her replacement—because he had a college degree.
