This book examines the concept of financial health and well-being from many perspectives, bringing together the voices of long-time champions of financial capability and newer voices hailing from a variety of sectors, such as public health, criminal justice, and business. What unites them is the shared recognition that we must do more to help all Americans have control over their financial lives and achieve their financial goals. As represented on the book’s cover, financial health and well-being is the bridge to a strong financial future, connecting individuals and families to greater opportunity, creating more vibrant communities, and in turn, strengthening the social and economic fabric of our nation.
In the United States, we have traditionally defined financial status by income or wealth, but experts in policy and practice from a range of fields are expanding our focus to better understand what consumers actually want and need in their financial lives. A consensus is emerging that satisfaction with one’s financial life has elements that are both objective (income, wealth, cash flow) and subjective (financial freedom, on track to meet financial goals). And as many of the authors in this book make clear, financial health is deeply tied to the availability of opportunity, which too often depends on factors outside an individual’s control, such as race, parental socioeconomic status, and macroeconomic climate.
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What It’s Worth is a joint project of the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
This book builds on two earlier volumes: Investing in What Works for America’s Communities, and What Counts: Harnessing Data for America’s Communities. Each are part of an important national conversation on addressing poverty and identifying solutions to intractable issues.
Table of Contents
| Acknowledgements | |
| Foreword Janet Yellen, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System |
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| Introduction | |
| 1. WHERE WE ARE: UNDERSTANDING THE FINANCIAL LIVES OF AMERICA’S HOUSEHOLDS | |
| How the Road to Financial Security is Paved with Financial Capability Andrea Levere and Leigh Tivol, CFED |
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| The Future of Building Wealth: Can Financial Capability Overcome Demographic Destiny? Ray Boshara, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis |
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| The Real Financial Lives of Americans Jennifer Tescher and Rachel Schneider, Center for Financial Services Innovation |
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| 2. WHY FINANCIAL WELL-BEING MATTERS FOR ALL The Economy, the Financial Services System and Community |
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| Financial Vulnerability is a Problem: An Economist’s View Jared Bernstein, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities |
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| We Are in This Together: Bipartisan Solutions to Preserve the American Dream Phil English, Arent Fox LLP Jeremie Greer, CFED |
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| Reestablishing Trust: An Essential First Step for Financial Institutions Cathie Mahon, National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions |
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| Consumer Protection Drives Financial Health Raj Date, Fenway Summer LLC |
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| Race, Place, and Financial Security: Building Equitable Communities of Opportunity Angela Glover Blackwell, PolicyLink |
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| Stable Housing, Stable Families: Thinking beyond Homeownership Rick Lazio, Jones Walker LLP |
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| Starting at Home: Housing-based Approaches to Financial Stability Paul Weech, NeighborWorks America |
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| Employment and Business | |
| Making Work Pay: Building Financial Health Improves Employment Outcomes Michael Rubinger, Local Initiatives Support Corporation |
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| Thinking Outside the 401(k): Employer-Sponsored Financial Health Solutions Regis Mulot, Staples Inc. |
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| Empowering Entrepreneurs, Strengthening Communities Janie Barrera, LiftFund |
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| Health and Social Services | |
| Louisville’s “Culture of Compassion”: A Model for Community-based Financial Empowerment Greg Fischer, City of Louisville |
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| Financial Health is Public Health Jason Q. Purnell, Washington University in St. Louis |
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| Treating Financial Well-being as a Public Health Issue: Lessons from Delaware Rita Landgraf, Delaware Department of Health and Social Services |
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| Beyond Financial Education: Supporting Positive Financial Behaviors through Financial Coaching J. Michael Collins, University of Wisconsin–Madison |
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| Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration: A Strategy for Investing in Individuals, Families and Communities Vivian Nixon, College and Community Fellowship Susan Sturm, Columbia Law School and Center for Institutional and Social Change |
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| Ending “Welfare As We Know It”: Redesigning Public Assistance through the Lens of Financial Health and Economic Mobility Reggie Bicha and Keri Batchelder, Colorado Department of Human Services |
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| Education | |
| Promoting Financial Health through Higher Education Sarah Bloom Raskin, U.S. Department of the Treasury |
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| A Lifecycle Approach to Putting Higher Education within Reach Martha Kanter, New York University |
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| When Colleges Get It Right, Students Succeed Regina Stanback Stroud, Skyline College |
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| 3. WHO IS BEING AFFECTED? DEMOGRAPHICS AND FINANCIAL HEALTH | |
| Wealth and Generations Phillip Longman, New America |
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| African American Economic Inequality: A Twenty-First Century Challenge Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People |
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| Latinos in the Financial Shadows José A. Quiñonez, Mission Asset Fund |
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| The Lakota Funds Story: How Indian Country is Building Financial Capability Elsie M. Meeks, Lakota Funds |
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| Financial Insecurity in Asian American Pacific Islander Communities: An Untold Story of Racial Wealth Inequality Lisa Hasegawa and Jane Duong, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development |
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| Women and Wealth: How to Build It Heidi I. Hartmann, Institute for Women’s Policy Research |
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| From Impulse Control to Interest Rates: Building Financial Capability in Children and Youth Elizabeth Odders-White and Charles Kalish, University of Wisconsin–Madison |
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| The Upside of Aging: Maximizing Wisdom in Financial Decision Making Ted Beck, National Endowment for Financial Education |
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| 4. WHAT TO DO NEXT: STRENGTHENING THE FINANCIAL FUTURE | |
| What It’s Worth: Building Bridges to Financial Health and Well-being Ellen Seidman |
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| SO WHAT? Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize Brandee McHale, Citi Foundation |
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| Closing the Financial Capability Gap: A Call to Action for Private Markets Asheesh Advani, Junior Achievement Worldwide |
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| Toward Productive Research Agendas in Financial Inclusion, Security, and Development Michael Sherraden and Margaret Sherraden, Washington University in St. Louis |
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| Toward a New Business Model: Strengthening Families Helps to Strengthen Communities and the Nation Laura Choi and David Erickson, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco |
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| Building the Opportunity Economy Robert Friedman, CFED |
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