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Gauging the American Dream

On Wednesday, Forbes launched its new “American Dream Index.” The purpose of the index is to gauge the prosperity of the middle class, and to examine which states best support the “American dream.” According to Forbes, the Index is designed to track “whether President Trump is Making America Great.”

The monthly Index measures prosperity state-by-state based on several different economic factors, including goods-producing employment; personal and commercial bankruptcies; building permits; startup activity; unemployment insurance claims; labor force participation; and layoffs.

“Forbes’ American Dream Index aims to capture a middle-class zeitgeist,” said Forbes Senior Editor Kurt Badenhausen.  Commenting on findings from the debut edition of the Index, Badenhausen added, “The Trump presidency has gotten off to a rocky start, but businesses are hiring in part in anticipation of tax cuts and less regulation under Trump. Many areas of the country have experienced strong upticks in employment and construction, as well as declines in unemployment claims since the start of the year.”

The uptick in construction in some states resulted in high rankings on the index. States such as Tennessee and Colorado rank highly on the list due high amounts of building permits, as well as declines in unemployment. Meanwhile, Utah ranked high with the highest level of building permits in the country.

At the bottom of the index is Alaska, whose low spot on the index has been heavily influenced by drops in oil prices. Still, Alaska held the lowest rates of bankruptcy in the country. The highest bankruptcy rate in the country was in Alabama., with a bankruptcy rate of 5.4 per every 1000 people.

High costs of living contributed to lower scores on the Index on the West Coast, although the Index notes that in Oregon, household incomes are expected to rise the most in the country in the next five years.

The current population-weighted average score of 100.5 for February was a jump from January score of 100, and Forbes predicts the score will continue to change over the next few years, either by expansion or recession.

About Author: Seth Welborn

Seth Welborn is a contributing writer for DS News. He is a Harding University graduate with a degree in English and a minor in writing, and has studied abroad in Athens, Greece. An East Texas native, he also works part-time as a photographer.
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