The Roots of U.S. Work Culture—and Why the American Dream Is So Difficult to Achieve Today

“In postwar America, fast food was seen as a ladder to the middle class,” says journalist and author Adam Chandler. “If you were part of a familiar chain, banks were willing to lend you money, and people would come to your establishment right away because you were a proven entity.” Tim Boyle / Newsmakers When a colleague asked Thomas Edison how he’d made so many huge advances in everything from light bulbs to…