How are Families Really Doing? Part 3: Economic Mobility

This is the third in a series of interviews with policy experts who participated in an event we hosted on November 22nd, "Poverty, Inequality, Mobility, Oh My," where we explored different ways of assessing how families are doing post-Great Recession and how applying these different approaches to the design of public policies might improve the conditions and opportunities of low-income families.

In this interview, Erin Currier, from Pew’s Economic Mobility Project discusses the significance of economic mobility as a key indicator of the health of the American Dream. Unfortunately, the data show that many Americans remain stuck in the income category they were born into, particularly at the high and low end of the income spectrum, a phenomenon known as “stickiness at the ends.” 

According to a survey conducted by Pew, Americans agree that government should support economic mobility. However, existing strategies target middle and higher income people primarily through the tax code, leaving lower-income families unable to take advantage of those investments. Erin identifies several areas, including savings and asset development, on which policymakers should focus to help more families move up the economic ladder.

You can find more information on economic mobility from Erin's presentation here.

Stay tuned for our last installment on income inequality from Indi Dutta-Gupta with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.