Kochan, Thomas A. Restoring the American Dream: A Working Families' Agenda for America.

• Author: Crozier Garcia, Cheryl
• Position: Book review

Kochan, Thomas A. Restoring the American Dream: A Working Families' Agenda for America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005. 272 pages. Cloth, $29.95.

Kochan discusses the impact of advancing technology, globalization, and the growth of a knowledge economy on working-class American families. Using a combination of anecdotes and review of the existing literature, the author weaves a tapestry that portrays the U.S. middle class as a beleaguered, endangered species, threatened from without by the diaspora of manufacturing and other well-paying jobs, the shift from a product-based to a service-based economy, the deterioration of government support of education, health care, and pension benefits, and from within by its inability to sufficiently educate its children and to provide for its elderly. The impact of the cultural sea change of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries is factored into the equation, as is the need for substantive change at both the grass-roots and governmental levels. In short, workers must assert their rights to lifelong, meaningful work, living wages, access to health care, ongoing professional development and training, and stable, secure retirement income. Corporations must change their focus from short-term cost containment and profits to long-term sustainability and the government must work to represent the needs of all of its constituencies, not just those represented by lobbyists and campaign mega-contributors.

Kochan's main argument is that the family is the true generator of economic wealth, and, as such, must be protected and nurtured similarly to any other scarce resource. He then chronicles how the loss of real income, the diminishing stability of employment and earnings, and the consequent increased time pressures of work prevent workers from adequately caring for their families, educating themselves and their children, and building financial nest eggs to secure their retirement. Simply put, change is happening far more quickly than most workers can adapt to without assistance; presently, neither employers nor the government seems willing to provide the assistance necessary, even when doing so is relatively simple and inexpensive.

The author crafts a compelling story using first-person accounts, an extensive literature review, appropriate empirical evidence, and personal observations. His experiences as a member of the failed Commission of the Future of Worker Management Relations helped Kochan develop...