In 2011, MassINC undertook an organization-wide initiative to paint a picture of the state of the American Dream in Massachusetts, the third in a series of reports conducted every five years since MassINC’s founding. While the Great Recession is easing its grip on the Bay State, residents, policymakers and civic leaders must still make sense of the new economic realities. To this end, MassINC and CommonWealth are in the process of releasing four products that will bring deep analysis and solid data to a development that has so far been described in a primarily anecdotal way: The American Dream is becoming harder to realize for middle class families in Massachusetts.

The media partnership with WGBH was based on the fall release of four major products:

• In early November, CommonWealth released its Fall 2011 issue focused on the American Dream in Massachusetts, and featured stories on the stark income inequality between rich and poor, a growing gender achievement gap in education, the changing meaning of retirement, an unforgiving housing market, and the experiences of immigrants, all analyzed through a Massachusetts lens.
  
  
• A major research report, written in conjunction with Northeastern University’s Center for Labor Market Studies (CLMS), draws the most detailed picture possible of how residents in Massachusetts are faring when it comes to attaining middle class pillars like housing, education, and financial security.
  
  
• A public opinion poll designed by MassINC and CLMS details how middle class families say today’s challenging economic conditions are affecting their family life, career, personal finance, and confidence in business and government.
  
  
• A first-of-its-kind Middle Class Index that measures Bay State residents’ experience reaching goals that make up the American Dream. The index provides an important benchmark to evaluate the impact of future economic change on families across the Commonwealth.

In a partnership with WGBH, MassINC, The MassINC Polling Group and CommonWealth magazine provided the featured content for week-long, multi-media look at issues surrounding the American Dream. Running throughout the week of November 14, the American Dream project included special segments of ‘Where we Live,” a radio, TV and web program that examined how the recession is impacting local communities in Massachusetts. The program, which focused on a different community each day, drew on data and analysis within MassINC’s forthcoming research report on the state of the American Dream.

Additionally, Greater Boston, The Emily Rooney Show, The Callie Crossley Show, Morning Edition, and All Things Considered featured MassINC’s new content and aired interviews with MassINC and CommonWealth magazine experts throughout the week. 

The middle class in Massachusetts and the US has long been considered not just an economic distinction, but a representation of balance and equity in a strong, cohesive society. With these new products, MassINC hopes to bring reliable, unprejudiced information to the dialogue around what should be done to restore vitality to the middle class.