Vasché: Does nation's optimism live here?

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An optimist, my dictionary tells me, tends to take the "most hopeful or cheerful view of things or to expect the best possible outcome."

In these days when the glass often seems to be half empty rather than half full, it's a challenge for many folks to see even a good outcome, let alone the best possible one.

After all, this Katrina-like economic storm we're experiencing has cost some people their jobs and others their homes; it's wiped out savings, delayed retirements and put dreams on hold.

When that happens -- when the glass surely appears to be half empty -- it's hard to have a hopeful or cheerful view.

But a national survey by the Pew Charitable Trusts shows Americans to be precisely that -- optimistic -- when it comes to the future.

The poll of more than 2,100 adults found that even during this worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, most people have great faith in their ability to get ahead economically.

Three-quarters of those surveyed in January described their current situation as "only fair" or "poor." But nearly eight out of 10 have confidence in their ability to improve their economic condition, seven of 10 believe their family will be better off in 10 years, and six of 10 believe their children will have a higher standard of living than they have.

"This uniquely American optimism remains true across racial lines and even among lower-income, less educated and unemployed people," wrote John Morton, managing director of the Pew Charitable Trusts.

His organization, in collaboration with the Brookings Institution, the American Enterprise Institute, the Urban Institute, the Heritage Foundation and others, started the Economic Mobility Project -- for details go to www.economicmobility.org/poll2009 -- to track how Americans view their ability to move up or down the income ladder within a lifetime and from one generation to the next.

The five key findings of the poll, as outlined in Pew's various reports:

— Despite the current downturn, Americans are optimistic about their opportunities for economic mobility within and across generations.

— Americans believe their economic mobility and opportunity depend more on their own hard work and ambition than on outside forces such as the economy.

— Americans care more about opportunity than inequality and are far more concerned about the ability of lower-income Americans to move up the income ladder than about the persistence of upper-income Americans at the top.

— Americans believe the government hurts more than it helps people trying to move up the economic ladder, but they believe a range of policies would be effective at encouraging upward mobility.

— While definitions of the "American Dream" vary, some core themes emerge: freedom to accomplish anything you want with hard work, freedom to say or do what you want, and that one's children will be better off.

Morton pointed out that while Americans seem to be optimistic about the future, there's a gap between their perception and the reality.

In examining mobility across generations, Morton noted that four out of 10 children born to parents at the bottom rung of the economic ladder will stay there as adults. Similarly, about four out of 10 who start life at the top level will remain there.

Morton also stressed education as one of the most important factors in upward economic mobility, along with the need for more government policies to encourage upward movement. Those policies range from making college more affordable to investing in early childhood education to making saving easier.

The people who participated in the survey lived in Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Diego -- all areas affected by the recession, but arguably none hit as hard as the San Joaquin Valley, with its high rates of unemployment, foreclosures, bankruptcies and such.

Which leads one to wonder: Does that "uniquely American optimism" that the poll found elsewhere exist here? Do we see a brighter future for ourselves and our children? Do we believe that through hard work and ambition we can build a better life? Is the "American Dream" alive and well here at home?

Vasché, The Bee's editor and senior vice president, may be contacted at mvasche@modbee.com.