The general public is more skeptical of the American dream today than at any point in roughly two decades, even in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, according to a New York Times poll released Wednesday.
"Do you think it is possible to start out poor in this country, work hard and become rich?" the question asked.
Only 64 percent of respondents said they believe it's still possible, the lowest in almost two decades and down from the 72 percent of Americans who still believed during the depths of the financial crisis in 2009.
The Times also posed this question: Is over-regulation that could interfere with economic growth a bigger problem than too little regulation that could create an unequal distribution of wealth?
Fifty-four percent of respondents said over-regulation was the bigger problem interfering with economic growth, while 38 percent said too little regulation was the problem. Eight percent had no opinion.
The lackluster belief in the American dream may have something to do with more people finding themselves trapped in perpetual debt.
A separate survey commissioned by CreditCards.com and published Tuesday found 18 percent of respondents who are already in debt believe they will be in debt for the rest of their lives - double the percentage who expected the same in May 2013.
Another 11 percent don't expect to be out of debt until they're in their 70s. The survey found that the average age people expected to achieve freedom from debt is 53.
"We've all seen the student loan debt numbers, and credit card debt is increasing, and even though the job market is improving it's certainly not humming along, and there is data about people's salaries not growing quite as quickly as people had hoped," said Matt Schulz, senior analyst at CreditCards.com. "You just wonder if it has all come together to create this unease."
Of the more than 160 million Americans with credit cards, each household carries an average of $15,000 in debt, and the total consumer debt is at around $11.4 trillion, including mortgages, aut loans, credit cards, and student loans, according to Debt.org.
