Giving Compass' Take:

· The American middle class has been struggling. Here, the Brookings Institution discusses how to help those in the demographic and also ways to bring more people into its ranks.

· Where do nonprofits fit into this wishlist, especially when it comes to reducing inequality and investing in skill upgrades? Those who work in domestic economic development should see how their missions align.

· Learn more about growing the American middle class.

How can we help the American middle class, and boost more people into its ranks? Answers abounded at a recent event on the Future of the Middle Class, but as Janet Gornick said, “It’s really a question of political will.” Here are eight policy solutions discussed at the event:

  1. Reduce Inequality. The crisis of the middle class, however defined, is part of the larger question about high and rising inequality.
  2. Invest in Skill Upgrading. Support expanding “guided pathways” that link students more directly to career paths, as well as enhancing student supports and advising at community colleges.
  3. Expand Wage Subsidies. Michael Strain proposed expanding earnings subsidies for low-income households, including those without children, to address declining employment rates.
  4. Provide Workers with Paid Family and Medical Leave. Paid family and medical leave and improved access to childcare would go a long way to help middle-class families.
  5. Provide All Children with Savings Accounts at Birth. Publicly funded children’s savings accounts, which would be held until children turn 18, can help disadvantaged young people reach the middle class.
  6. Boost Unionization. Protect workers’ ability to negotiate the terms for themselves in a collective bargaining agreement.
  7. Establish Wage Boards. Ben Olinsky proposed that the U.S. explore wage boards “so that we are dealing with wages not just for the very bottom, like the minimum wage, but also for the middle.”
  8. Close the Respect Gap. Reducing economic gaps will also require reducing the growing “respect gap” across classes, according to Richard Reeves.

Read the full article about boosting the middle class by Richard V. Reeves and Katherine Guyot at The Brookings Institution.