????美國夢的一個基本信條就是，一代更比一代強。目前的經濟大衰退對這一信條造成了猛烈沖擊。大多數人將其歸咎于房市危機。他們認為，房市危機導致許多家庭無力承擔房貸，并喪失家園。一份新的調查結果顯示，現在又出現了另外一個新的問題，使人們在追逐美國夢的道路上更加舉步維艱。

????布魯金斯學會（Brookings Institution）漢密爾頓計劃（Hamilton Project）的一份報告顯示，典型美國家庭的收入較十年前有所增加。但是，這主要是因為家庭中父母的工作時間比以前更長了，而他們的工資并未出現實質增長。

????目前，美國的失業率高達9%，導致許多家庭陷入困境。當然，那些有幸保住工作的家庭同樣也面臨困難。該報告顯示，自1975年以來，雙親家庭的平均收入增長了23%。但是與25年前相比，2009年雙親家庭的工作時間延長了26%。這些數據表明，越來越多的女性正在加入勞動力大軍；這同時也表明，雖然工作時間有所延長，但是收入并沒有同步增長。

????隨著傳統核心家庭結構的解體的解體，更多問題浮出水面，而這些數據只揭示了人們面臨的部分問題。過去35年來，結婚率的下降使單親家庭的數量增長了一倍。這些單親家庭的年工作時間比1975年增長了53%，收入則增長了69%。盡管如此，單親家庭平均收入約為16,500美元——不足雙親家庭收入的四分之一。更何況在這樣的家庭中，經濟負擔只能由一人承擔。

????布魯金斯學會的研究與另一項研究的結論不謀而合：美國工人的生產能力不斷提高，而收入卻未同步增長。但是，該研究也凸顯了他們未來面臨的深層次問題。房地產市場的崩潰和隨之而來的經濟大衰退迫使許多工人失業，許多家庭債臺高筑，這使得他們不得不重新審視美國夢的定義。下一代人甚至懷疑他們的美國夢到底能否實現。

????加拿大格魯斯基-謝菲資產管理公司（Gluskin Sheff）的經濟學家大衛?羅森博在最近的一份報告中指出，嬰兒潮時期出生的人通常把擁有房產視為退休后資產，而與他們不同的是，此后出生的8,200萬“千禧一代”更傾向于租房而非買房。在今后一段時間內，他們仍可能繼續為房地產市場的混亂買單。過去四年房價上漲了35%，不僅抑制了消費需求，也導致許多公司不再招聘人手。

????所以， 對“山姆大叔” 未來的子民來說，工資停滯不前并非他們面臨的頭號難題——首要的是謀得一份差事。

????（翻譯 喬樹靜）

????A key tenet of the American Dream is that each generation will do better than the last. That principle was severely shaken by the Great Recession. Most of the blame rested on the housing crisis, which forced families out of homes they couldn't afford. Now a new study suggests there's another measure of well being that's keeping Americans from fulfilling the dream.

????The typical American family earns more today than it did decades ago. But that's mostly because parents are working longer hours -- not because their wages have risen that much more -- according to a report from the Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project.

????Households today are struggling with an unemployment rate hovering above 9%. And those lucky enough to have jobs aren't free of challenges. Median wages for two-parent families grew 23% since 1975, according to the study. But in 2009, two-parent households worked 26% longer than those two and a half decades ago. The figures reflect more women entering the workforce, but it also implies that wages haven't increased as much as the rise in worker hours would suggest.

????Those numbers capture only part of the challenge as the traditional nuclear family breaks up. A drop in the marriage rate has resulted in a doubling of single-parent households over the past three and a half decades. In those households, annual hours have risen 53% since 1975, while earnings growth has grown by 69% during the same period. Nevertheless, at single-parent households where the financial burden tends to fall on one earner, median earnings are about $16,500 -- which is less than one-fourth that of a two-parent family.

????The Brookings study echoes the conclusions of other research that show American workers are producing more without a corresponding rise in wages. But it also highlights deeper problems that workers are facing down the road. The crash of the real estate market plus the deep recession that followed forced many out-of-work and heavily indebted families to reexamine the notion of the American Dream. And future generations are wondering if it's even a possibility.

????Gluskin Sheff Economist David Rosenberg notes in a recent report that unlike baby boomers who often viewed homeownership as a retirement asset, the larger group of 82 million Millennials that followed are more apt to rent than buy. And they'll likely be paying for the shambles of the real estate market for a while. The 35% spiral in home prices nationwide over the past four years has constrained consumer demand, stalling companies from hiring more employees.

????So for future generations, stagnant wages won't be the only big issue; they'll have to find a job first.