PolicyLink Hosts New York Times Debate on Class Mobility

In his editorial, DeParle highlights how recent research – at least five large studies – has shown the U.S. to have less class mobility than comparable nations, often scoring at the bottom of the pack, while nations like Canada and Denmark rank at the top. Another research project shows that even England, which as DeParle points out is “famous for its class constraints,” showed a greater level of mobility for men in the bottom quartile of incomes than the U.S.

Adding to the conversation, Blackwell writes how climbing the ladder is even more difficult for those born poor or black, or poor and female. White children born to poor parents are twice as likely to become rich as black children in the same situation. And black children are significantly more likely to drop from being solidly middle class to poor than white children: 45 percent compared to 15 percent.

But the conversation needs to be about more than just the problem; it needs to include some ideas for solutions. DeParle explains how it is difficult to pinpoint the reason for the disparity between the U.S. and other comparable nations. Blackwell does offer some solutions, writing:

Yet these are not the only options to help low and moderate-income individuals – regardless of ethnic background - climb the economic ladder to prosperity…and give them the stability they need to preserve that prosperity once they have scaled a few rungs To actually make the American Dream an American Reality, we need to focus on more than incomes and the short-term and promote strategies that help these individuals build assets and maintain their mobility and self-sufficiency over the long term.

There are several strategies and efforts to help do this. Blackwell is right in that we need more economic opportunities in poor neighborhoods. Economic strategies that spread ownership such as cooperatives or worker-owned businesses allow multiple individuals to build individual wealth while maintaining ownership in a business. An important by-product of the employees being owners is that it helps ground the businesses in the neighborhood – creating stability and multiplying the economic effect in the community.

Other wealth building strategies help individuals build assets in other ways. Individual Development Accounts, or matched saving accounts, compliment Blackwell’s call for strengthening community colleges, by helping low income individuals save and pay for higher education (these savings could also be used for purchasing a home or starting a small business too).

And finally the community land trust model provides an affordable housing model that is permanent and capable of helping low and moderate-income individuals build a necessary asset based without the risk of predatory loans or other risky mortagages. Community land trusts have the lowest foreclosure rate of any housing model in the country - 0.52 percent compared to 3.3 for market-rate homeowners – due to the active relationship between the trust and homeowner. DeParle notes how “a sour season of mass unemployment and street protests has moved the discussion [about economic mobility] toward center stage.” The dialogue is just beginning.