Slower income growth, as well as substantial volatility in income, has raised the financial stress faced by low- and moderate-income families and may be limiting absolute mobility across generations. Over time, the “American Dream” that each generation can expect to be better off than their parents’ generation has gone from being widespread to increasingly out of reach for much of the population.
That is why the pact for stability and growth is one of the cornerstones of the EMU. It will establish a foundation of fiscal stability under the operations of the European Central Bank, and thereby contribute to the impact of its policies. BIS Review 36/1997