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MEDIA ADVISORY
November 28, 2007, Press Teleconference
Contact:
Timothy Rusch, Demos
Tel: (212) 389-1407 Email: trusch@demos.org
Laura Gardner, Brandeis
Tel: (781) 736-4204 Email: gardner@brandeis.edu
BARRIERS TO LONG-TERM STABILITY, NUMBERS OF FAMILIES AT RISK OF FALLING OUT OF MIDDLE CLASS TO BE DISCUSSED
WHAT
Briefing for journalists on new report, By A Thread: The New Experience of Americas Middle Class, based on the new Middle Class Security Index
WHEN
Wednesday, November 28, 2007, at 12:00 PM Eastern (11:00 AM CST/ 9:00 AM PST)
CALL-IN DETAILS
Conference Call-in Number: (888) 491-8283
Conference ID: 25379046
Please RSVP to Tim Rusch, trusch@demos.org, if you plan to participate, and you will be emailed a full press release and advance copy of the report one hour before the call.
WHO
Thomas Shapiro, report co-author, Director, Institute on Assets and Social Policy and Pokross Professor of Law and Social Policy, Brandeis University: Presenting background on the report and discussing the overall implications of its findings.
Jennifer Wheary, report co-author, Senior Fellow, Economic Opportunity Program, Demos: Offering details on specific results from the Index and a preview of upcoming work.
Henry Cisneros, Executive Chairman, CityView (an investment company that partners with home builders to help create quality housing for America's working families), former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and a four-term Mayor of San Antoni Commenting on the findings of By A Thread, the state of the middle class, and policy investments that can provide greater economic security for America's families.
Ron Blackwell, Chief Economist, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO): Discussing the importance of benchmarks to measure household economic security.
Jean Pogge, Executive Vice President, ShoreBank (The first and largest community development and environmental bank in the United States): Discussing the role of business in supporting economic mobility and a strong middle class.
Miles Rapoport, President, Demos: Moderator
BACKGROUND
Publication of a landmark report based on a new Middle Class Security Index developed by the non-partisan public policy center Demos and the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University. Based on government data, By a Thread: The New Experience of Americas Middle Class uses the findings of the Index to provide the first comprehensive measurement of economic stability across the American middle class.
This Index measures the financial security of the middle class by rating household stability across five core economic factors: assets, educational achievement, housing costs, budget and healthcare. Based on how a family ranked in each of these factors, they were defined as financially "secure", "borderline" or "at risk".
Headline findings of this report reveal:
§ The small fraction of the American middle class that has long-term, sustainable economic security;
§ The percentage of the middle class that is borderline or at high risk of falling out of the middle class;
§ The factors on which Americas middle class are most vulnerable or most secure;
§ A glimpse of middle class security by race and age (topic of in-depth future reports);
§ The public policy implications and need for long-range solutions that engage both business and labor.
The Middle Class Security Index will be updated and new reports published biennially, supplemented by companion reports and briefing papers on middle-class security by race and age. The report series will also be featured at a series of Congressional briefings, and is made available to all candidates for office, sitting legislators, educators and media.
At Noon on November 28, 2007, a PDF file of the By a Thread report will be available for download at www.demos.org and
http://iasp.brandeis.edu/. Hard copies of the report are available on request.
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