Waltham-born author to talk about new book on the erosion of the American dream

An author with Waltham roots is returning to discuss his new book about the American dream at the Waltham Museum.

Charles J. Whalen’s “Fighting for the American Dream: From Blue-Collar Kid to Maverick Economist, The Battle to Defend Working Families” provides a first-person perspective on the erosion of the American dream through the lens of a career memoir. In the book, Whalen describes his experiences in the throes of the U.S. economy, paired with a scholar’s examination of the economy and society. The text also touches on work ethic, the immigrant worker experience and the role of faith and personal philosophy in the working world.

Whalen is a research fellow at the University at Buffalo and worked at the Congressional Budget Office and Business Week. “Fighting for the American Dream” is his ninth book.

Growing up in Waltham: A crash course in economics

Whalen grew up in Waltham, attending Plympton Elementary School and graduating from Waltham High School in 1978. He says that growing up in Waltham with blue-collar parents gave him a firsthand perspective on working-class issues. 

“It allowed me to see the fact that the U.S. economy has undergone several major transformations over time,” Whalen said, referencing Waltham’s agrarian, industrial and post-industrial history. “That helped me understand how the economy is always changing and shifting, but it also gave me my appreciation for the struggles of working families.”

Whalen believes the American dream is central to Waltham because of its blue-collar background. 

“Working people don’t usually have aspirations of great wealth. Their sense of the American dream is a modest one. They want steady work. As they become more skilled, they want their quality of life to get better. Since the 1970s, that’s not what we see,” Whalen said.

Through stagnant wages, waning benefits, unstable schedules and layoffs, Whalen argues that the American dream has become out of reach. Despite earning a bachelor’s degree in labor relations from Cornell University and a doctorate in economics from University of Texas Austin, Whalen has experienced this instability in his own career. He said there were many times he was out of a job despite the career stability that an advanced degree is often expected to provide.

“All I could find were short-term contracts. There were a lot of hard landings. My own career difficulty gave me more empathy for workers,” Whalen said.

Connecting with readers through common struggles

Whalen hopes readers will relate to his experiences and learn from them. More than a dozen lessons Whalen has learned throughout his career are laid out in “Fighting for the American Dream,” but he wants readers to draw their own meaning from the book and spur a wider discussion about the economy. He hopes greater exposure to and understanding of these ideas will serve as a small step on the way to healing the American economy.

“We need to understand what the root problems [with the economy] are and recognize that worker-centered and worker-focused strategy is the way forward,” Whalen said. “If I can get people talking about these issues then I think the book will be a success.”

Whalen will be at the Waltham Museum at 25 Lexington St. on Aug. 27 at 6:30 p.m. and will speak about the book, his experiences in Waltham and a discussion on economic issues. “Fighting for the American Dream” will be out Sept. 3 and is available for preorder on Amazon, Bloomsbury Publishing and Barnes & Noble.

CORRECTION: Charles Whalen’s talk was erroneously described as taking place at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation. The correct location is the Waltham Museum. He worked at Business Week, not Business Insider, and “Fighting for the American Dream: From Blue-Collar Kid to Maverick Economist, The Battle to Defend Working Families” is his ninth book.