Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now
The Next America

Can you still make it in America?

Kai Ryssdal Jan 18, 2013
HTML EMBED:
COPY
The Next America

Can you still make it in America?

Kai Ryssdal Jan 18, 2013
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Four years after President Barack Obama took office amidst the slogans of “hope” and “change”, the unemployment rate is well off the ten percent it used to be early in the president’s first term. And yes, the economy has actually been growing for more than three years.

But numbers don’t mean anything to people who still feel like they’re stuck in a recession. Numbers don’t help the people who are struggling on the path to the middle class and economic security. To them, even the idea of economic security can seem impossible.

So Marketplace traveled to Chicago, where the Obama presidency started, to begin his second term. Broadcasting live from the National Public Housing Museum just off Michigan Ave., a place where the perils and the promise of America can be seen and heard.

It’s a place where the question “Can you still make it in America?” is very real. The only way to get the answer is to go out and ask people. We visited the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago to do just that. Listen to the radio segment in the audio player above, and hear from more Chicago residents below.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.