Men in the U.S. today are making comparatively less than they were a generation ago, said a report released by the Economic Mobility Project (emp).

Based on U.S. Census Bureau data, the report stated that men ages 30-39 in 2004 were making $5,000 less than their fathers did at that age. That translates to 12 percent less income for the average male 30-year-old. This stands in stark contrast to 30-year-olds in 1994, who earned $1,000 more than their fathers.

The report indicates the American dream of every generation having it better than their parents isn’t quite panning out. “The desire to achieve beyond one’s parents’ economic status or ensure a child’s greater success in life has inspired generations of Americans to study hard, work industriously, save carefully, and connect to a set of larger social ideals …” the report said. “While belief in this American Dream remains a unifying tie for an increasingly diverse populace, it is showing signs of wear….”

In spite of men earning less, the report notes family incomes are actually larger now than a generation ago. Families with men in their 30s earn on average $4,000 more than their parents did. The main reason, according to the report, is the increase in women in the workforce, providing families with two incomes.

The higher incomes today have come at the expense of giving up a stay-at-home mother. This is a drastic difference between working families of today and those of previous generations.

As a Christian Science Monitor report on the study alludes to, even with the men’s decrease in earnings, the extra wage earned by a working mother is unnecessary in many cases. Women have gone to work to keep up with an ever-growing list of must-have gadgets and other material goods. One mother said of her grown daughters, “I think there are more demands made upon them materialistically, and it’s harder.”

In other words, the American Dream may be suffering from nothing more complex than materialism.

A recent study shows that mothers are worth triple-digit salaries when they stay at home, but the benefit of mothers in the home consists of more than mere economics. The American Dream ideal of future generations living better lives than previous generations includes more than money, plasma televisions and three cars in the garage. It is about families with parents who spend time nurturing and teaching children how to experience the Dream. As one man interviewed by Christian Science Monitor said, “Family is the most important thing.”