from washington, "the mclaughlin group," the american original. for over two decades, the sh

first is freedom of speech and expression. the second is freedom of every person to worship god in his own way. the third is freedom from want, which translated in the world's terms means economic understandings, which will secure to every nation a healthy, peacetime life for its inhabitants. >> as americans gather around the family table this 2011

thanksgiving, the words of the 32nd u.s. president, franklin delano roosevelt, bear new relevance. unfortunately, not pleasant. the 2011 budget for food for the average american family is more stretched this year than at any time since 2008. the u.s.'s unemployment rate hovers around 9%. state by state, unemployment ranges as high as 13.4%. little wonder that the gallop polls if other polls report that two out of three americans, 66%, are preoccupied with the economy as their number-one concern. to give that wench of worry an extra turn, the world's economy, not just the u.s. economy, crashed four years ago, 2007. we are living through the fourth year of that meltdown. so what are we to be thankful

for this thanksgiving? answer, american resilience. bo resilience. 61% of baby boomers, age 47 to 65, and 67% of gen 67% of gen x's, 31 to 46, and 68% of generation y, mid to late 20s, believe that they or any american can still achieve the american dream. what is the american dream today? has it been redefined as a resulted of the financial slowdown? pat? >> the american dream is the belief of each and every american growing up that if he studies and he works hard and he gets a job and he stays out of trouble, he will be able to build a good life for himself, his wife, his family. that life will get better and better gradually. there may be some bumps but at the end of it, his children will have even a better life, john. the american dream is not being

redefined, but what is happening is it is being postponed for tens of millions of americans for the last three years, and for some americans i think it has been cancelled. >> eleanor? >> i think it's been redefined in the sense that it's less materialistic, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. i think people are looking for more meaning, and i think there's more individuality, and this notion that you have to do better than your parents i think that's fallen by the wayside. and a lot of young people may feel liberated. they don't necessarily have to follow their father's path and earn more, and they can find their own way. so i don't think it's all that depressing, and i think the numbers you put on the screen show that people are redefining the american dream in a way that they feel comfortable with, and they're optimistic. i think this is not a pessimistic society we live in. >> beth, welcome. >> thank you. >> what do you think about

this? >> the dream has been redefined. it's no longer the singular collective vision. it's much more personal, and the traditional milestones of the recent past, like a nuclear family, you have to be married, have children, get a college degree, own a home -- those have all gone by the wayside. now it's much more meaning over materialism, instead of financial success it's about having a financial safety net. and instead of a nuclear family, it's about broader social relationships. >> interesting. >> i think also, it's really a new do it yourself american dream. >> but it is an american dream. >> oh, t is. it's alive and well and it's important to americans of all ages. >> what do you think of beth's answer? >> i think beth is fascinating and i agree with her. it's interesting i think -- it's become a cliche to talk about the internet, but it has brought about more individualism and more individual abilities. to me the american dream in one word is opportunity. that's what has kept most people want to go get into this country, than wanting to leave.

and like pat said, it's not a question of you having guaranteed results but you have the opportunity to succeed if you work hard and get ahead. much of our politics is shaped by whether or not that dream is really alive for people or not. if you don't have equal education, can you have equal opportunity? for example. issues like that. >> everybody is making the same point. what i've described is the traditional dream, but part of the american dream is freedom. the same thing that clarence means with opportunity. freedom to live liver the lifestyle that you described and all the rest of it. those have always been there. but there's no doubt more and more tens of millions are rejecting the traditional american dream for what they see is their own personal dream. >> if americans are remaining, and i think you indicated this beth, personally confident, notwithstanding the circumstances, personally confident, how is does this translate into whom or what they expect from a presidential

candidate seek track office within 12 months? >> i think again it's whether or not that candidate is first of all on my side, a key political question. and so your vision of opportunity and this society, this candidate improve that or will they put some kind of handcuffs on it? that in many ways defines our policy. >> in terms of whether or not he got policy that i like. but what about a characteristic of his personally resilience, a man or woman who can revive and stimulate the confidence that america has in itself? >> personal narrative is very important to voters, whether they're conscious of it or not. we -- abraham lincoln took -- a log cabin and guy with the rail submitter and all that, exaggerated a lot of that. but still we love that kind of narrative. >> i don't see that happening in the 2012 campaign because we've already been through barack obama's narrative. i don't think he can get too

far in that. and i don't think if the nominee is mitt romney that he will be running necessarily on his narrative as the son of wealth. he will run more as somebody who can make government work again and be effective. >> can he rally the confidence of the american people, mitt romney? >> look, we have two political tribes in this country, and i think each tribe will be motivated by their standard baer or by opposition to the other candidates. so i think they'll be no lack of enthusiasm when the presidential election gets underway. >> you see a candidate out there who could do this? herman cain i think has the characteristics and he has the bearing -- he has a problem, and i'm not sure we can even include him in this list. but he does have that about him. >> he's a motivational speaker, and that's what he should stick

>> don't get out much, john? >> do you see anybody on the -- that is going to preserve and not only preserve but reenergize the american dream who is running for president? is it barack? >> no, there's only one man who has done that in our lifetimes and that's ronald reagan. he did in spirit country. and i don't think the american people expect the president to do all this for us. >> i'm not talking about a motivational speaker. i'm talking about someone that they -- as a guy who can do it. >> what they want is a president who can get this economy up and growing and working again, get unemployment down, and the individuals and the farmers and others, they will decide then on the american dream. that's his job! >> once again the recovery is close to faltering. we need to make sure the recovery continues it doesn't drop back and the unemployment rate continues to fall

downward. >> in 2009, and 2010, americans were optimistic that president obama's stimulus program and cash for clunkers and first- time home buyers tax credit would restore strong economic growth. this year the mood can only be described as sober up. item, shock and awe. over two out of five americans, 43%, say the impact of the recession has been worse for them personally than they ever expected. three out of five, 60%, of generation y, those in their 20s who backed obama overwhelmingly for president in 2008, say that they expected the economy to have been fully recovered by now. so says met life american dream survey 2011. item, suffocating the dream. almost half of all baby boomers, 47%, and 44% of generation x, age 31 to 46, say

the u.s. economy is blocking them from achieving their american dream. 43% of generation y blame the lack of job availability and stagnant wages for stifling their dream. item, digging in for the long haul. 42% of all respond ent e two out of five in the met life survey, think it will take five years before the economy improves. that 42% is up from 33% in 2010, and 23% in 2009. and get this, the number of all polls respondents who say the economy will never improve has doubled again, from 5% in 2009 to 11% in 2011. question, we are living in a time for of economic sobriety. so where are americans looking for financial security? are they look to be the government? are they looking to families?

to themselves? beth? >> they're looking to themselves, because there's nobody out there to help them. there's one generation, though, which is little of the exception and the g, n y people. 60% receive money from family members to pay bills. so they're obviously relying on their families. >> what is that age group? >> the gen y's are in their 20s. so what is happening with the rest of the workers? so quarter of them are basically one paycheck away from not being able to meet their financial obligations. 42% now are two missed paychecks away from not being able to pay their bills and being on the verge every financial ruin that said, thera savings in reece is, so these numbers even though they're very sobering, are actually a little better than they were last year. >> clarence, with your far dotting vision and eyes, do you

detect pessimism on the home front? >> what intrigued me and encouraged me about your survey is that -- >> my survey? met life survey. >> yes, met life, is that the younger people responding to the questions sounded a little more optimistic than the older people, which surprised me, especially on a couple of these -- old boomers like me were really grilled. whereas the young people have optimistic outlook. that's reassuring to me. it's not surprising jgeny is more dependent on their parents because they have unfortunately really high unemployment rate now, even college grads had a hard time getting placed. but in recent days even some of occupy wall street demonstrators have found jobs. so it's important that you -- now but you won't be jobless in the future. that's the key i think to the american attitude, that this is a dip but le recover in the long run. >> i think there's also a sense

that what we're living through may be in historic restructuring of work. and i think people understand this is bigger than just an ordinary recession, and the occupy wall street protests have shown a light on the wealth gap, and i think there is this diffuse anger. i guess i wouldn't call it pessimism, i think america is beginning to wake up, and a lot of people identify with some of the goals of the 99% that things that economically things are out of back in this country. >> you sound like you're a member of a occupy wall street, eleanor. you have been out there? >> i've -- i've -- gone around the tents and the kayaks! i haven't spent the night. >> i am -- >> you think there's a possible wrap? >> no. i think -- >> overthrow the government? >> i think they don't have the right to permanent -- have permanent encampments in public parks, but i think they will be back in various forms.

they're not going tol walks of life, including me. >> if occupy wall street represents 99% of americans, i think they were with the cops in new york that through them out of zuccotti park, which they should have one weeks before. >> pat, you're trying -- >> idea -- >> pat is trying to be one -- [everyone talking at once] >> tell them to behave themselves! >> make pat's power -- >> tell them to behave themselves! >> pat is trying to relive the 60s! >> statistics. earlier on, you told us people -- there was a measure of confidence in their personal lives. a high measure, but if you look at are they confident about the future of their country? 70% of americans believe this country is in serious decline. 80% believe we're on the wrong course. they're happy about maybe positive about their personal lives, not positive about their

country. >> we've got beth with us today. let's examine the role 91% not

covered. >> so -- ask what should we run out and buy if we cone have it? >> you know, i'm a little biased. >> life insurance. >> but that chart. so that's basically a snapshot of americans' safety net. and you see auto insurance high, why? bus if you want a car, you have to have car insurance. it's mandated. so let's really look more carefully at the rest of it. do keep in mind unlike you, the average american gets most of their protection benefits from the workplace. okay? so that's why you see health insurance next, and then you see kind of a dropoff. that's more related to homeownership. so if you have a home, you're pretty much have to have homeowners insurance. and then it starts to sort of deteriorate from there. but at the workplace, it feels like medical is something so today, and so urgent, and --

>> aren't all these figures at record highs? you go back to the 1950s, i don't know if clarence and i had auto insurance when we were driving around! >> bring it back to 1900! stalkarazzi 00 [everyone talking at once] >> what i'm saying is, there's enormous amounts every insurance the industry is doing extremely well, but all of those are almost at record levels. >> i want to bigger frame here, and beth is i think -- almost there, is there any bigger frames to this? i mean, on the neglect of i guess that's the word, of life insurance? >> i would -- the lowest figures are disability and long- term. and the old days, pat, we had families and we all lived together, and people were nearby, and -- >> another form of insurance. >> and [everyone talking at once] >> i'm asking this of pat. is there any -- >> account reality in a -- >> is there any reason to believe that if you are

strapped for money, that the first thing to go is your insurance payments, and that's the end of that? >> no, the average american doesn't have the insurance payments the group here has. so it's not as financially onerous as you might imagine. we don't see people dropping off or dropping our policies. that's not what is going on. what is going on is that increasingly, the urgency and expense of health insurance is kind of dampening -- taking up and crowding out some of the other protections products p like i said, some of these other things seem like they can wait until tomorrow. >> exit question, is a psychology of diminished expectation taking hold in america? you understand the question? >> i think it's pretty clear, john. and i would say it probably has, as the recession has endured for two and three years, it may not have been there to begin with, but i think there's a real pessimism out there in america about the future of the country and about

personal problems and -- if ever this economy will recover. >> i think it's an acknowledgement of reality, and if -- i don't want to call it pessimistic because i think the whole thrust of this survey is the resilience of americans, and i'm not going to write off the country as easily as pat does. >> eleanor? i mean beth? >> let's go back to where pat started, which is the origin of the american dream, about working hard and persevering. somehow in the 50s and 60s, that turned into owning a home. so i think to the extent that things have little bit gotten off that track, is healthier and we're returning more to the origins and why we're here to begin with. >> i think a big reason why there's dramatic increase in pessimism now is the same reason, increase in the 70s when we had gasoline lines and runaway -- but things were doing so well before that by contrast people are -- have to

ratchet up their expectations bubba doesn't moan they don't have hope things will recover in the soon, we hope soon. >> i think the pessimism is because we're pessimistic about the rate of the recovery return, rather than in any i had a doctor this morning come in and he is said to me, boy, i'd love to buy a new suit. but in this kind of atmosphere, with this kind of uncertainty, i'm not going to do it. you can't say, come on, spend the mine! tomorrow will be better, because you really don't know if that will happen. >> for the first seven years of this new millennium, the american consumer was the driving force of global economic growth. the european union also played a key role in that global growth. china achieved its annual 9% growth by feeding its products for purchase to the eu, and the

u.s. as for the u.s., 70% of our economy is powered today by u.s. consumers spending. that makes the combined individual and family budget in america the most important economic force in the world. so with millions of americans underwater on their mortgages, and seeing no real increase in their incomes, this mighty american consumer engine is powering down. according to met life american dream survey 2011, 81% of americans say they plan to trim, even cut, the family budget. this is how they are going to do the cutting. first, eat out less, 70%. second, travel and vacation, less, 61%. third, spend less an entertainment, 61%. fourth, spend less on wardrobe,

and bad news for silicon valley -- 62% of americans say they'll take a pass on purchasing the latest technology. in this ocean of austerity, the only life jacket is that americans plan to spend an average every $764 on gifts this holiday season. up $50 from lasts year. lasts y so says the november gallop poll. question, can the world's economy recover fully if american consumers continue to rein in their spending? >> it's a big world. and in this country, the winners are going to be the retailers and the businesses that rebuild trusts with their customers. 90% of americans are saying they -- it's more important than ever to understand the financial wherewithal of the company they're doing business with. and you see that in the occupy wall street. we have 97% of gen

yers saying that trusted and honesty is more important in how they choose to do business with someone. >> it was an outgrowth of the wall street protests, one woman protested against bank of america's fees, and bank of america pulled back those fees. so i think people are discovering that they can have a collective voice in this. they can influence businesses and how they treat their customers. >> you think those new york cops are mean? >> i think most of them are terrific. but occasionally there's a tussle and sometimes they ruse too much force and it gets outs of hand. but for the most parts the cops are good. >> you know about the occupy wall street movement. >> yes, i've been there. i've not excellent overnight, but -- >> what are you done? >> i talked to a number of them. >> engaged them in free inquiry? is that your question? >> no. >> okay. >> my question is, are they

going to last? >> it's ideas that matters what they physically do, and these are rambunctious kids who are angry about the way things are. they've achieved their goal, so yeah, i don't expect them to be -- >> realists about kewan? >> no. and you won't. >> kids shouting out, pay my college few,. >> tuition [everyone talking at once] ple -- >> republicans usurped the tea party p agreed politically. when you see -- >> evaporated a political party? >> no, the tea party -- >> republican party. >> but it will. i've already said that. because they've largely achieved their goal. well see how powerful they are in this upcoming election. >> john, do you think that --

>> john, occupy wall street, most are being cleared out, in oakland, wherever look, mayors have had enough of the nonsense. >> what is the point? >> the point is they'll be out of there for the winter, but i would expect some of this to come back in the spring and block obama, but not tie himself to the clowns because they'll be on -- [everyone talking at once] too late! >> the opposition to wall street crowd has shifted the political narrative in this country for the white working class people who are not scream background too much government and let's pay the deficit. they like their general dark they think they -- >> they are more -- working beg, a forced prediction is. >> true or false? homeownership, having children and marriage works its way back into the american dream in the next two years. >> if not, we're toast.

>> works its way back but >> true or false? >> longer than two years. >> longer than two years. >>