The American dream is dead — and Trump's economy put the last nail in the coffin

The affordability crisis isn't merely a "vibes" problem; a new report shows that Americans are losing hope.

The New Republic's Monica Potts cited it as the "vibecession," which some argue never really went away.

Economists have spent years explaining that Americans are feeling the impact of a struggling economy that never fully recovered from the pandemic. Experts have tried to cite consumer sentiment and confidence in the economy.

A new report from The Roosevelt Institute released Tuesday indicates that the issue has gone beyond "affordability." People don't feel like they can achieve a "good life" in the U.S. anymore.

“If we are talking about the core goals of economic policy, yes, we want overall growth, but to what end?” said the institute's president and CEO Elizabeth Wilkins. “To deliver the building blocks of a good life for people, right? We fundamentally believe that progress should be about people living better lives. So, what does it look like to actually deliver that for people?”

While many polling firms ask blanket questions about whether someone is "better off" or whether the economy is their top issue in this election, the Roosevelt survey specifically asks about people's financial situation. It found that voters feel they have to make "trade offs" to afford what they need and that they don't have enough to buy what they need, much less a financial cushion.

"Just one in five said they were very secure in their income and confident they’d be able to retire comfortably," the report said. "Almost 80 percent said they are worried about their finances now or in the future, and 35 percent have stopped putting money into savings in order to make ends meet."

There are two previously cited trends: that there is "no slack" in the economy and that Americans don't feel any financial security. In two-earner households, the top two breadwinners are already working as much as they can. Those working multiple jobs are on the rise. It comes as costs continue to rise, particularly when it comes to the base prices of utilities, housing and healthcare.

Economists have described the U.S. as being in a K-shaped economy, meaning those at the very top continue to do better and better, while everyone else sinks. It's something that has been growing since the early 2000s. Americans largely blame self-serving politicians "working for billionaires." It has sent confidence in the government underwater by 41 points.

“People’s expectations are shaped by what’s possible in a world where people can buy their third yacht, and you don’t have the time to spend with your child because of the number of jobs that you have to work, even if those jobs mean that you can buy groceries for the week,” Wilkins told TNR.

“We ought to be able to do better by people than the basics when so much is possible based on the resources that we have," she continued. "So, to my mind, what we are seeing is people extremely frustrated by real measures of economic insecurity in a world where they can tell, based on the wealth and power around them, that things could be different if we could change them to be so.”

It isn't a new sentiment. She cited movements like "Occupy Wall Street" and the "Tea Party" as part of the fight against economic woes.

" The blatantly corrupt Trump administration and its coterie of billionaires have simply raised the pitch," wrote reporter Monica Potts.

Still, while Americans may not trust the government, they still want it to act. There remains enormous support for government-funded health care, child care and public colleges, the survey showed.

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