Giving Compass' Take:

• City leaders are tapping into data to figure out policies that will improve the prospects of people struggling in communities across the country. By closely tracking the results of a diverse set of ideas, these 10 cities will provide valuable insights to communities nationwide.

• Progress is possible if government leaders are courageous enough to test bold ideas and invest in what works. How can donors help inspire and support policymakers into action?

• Learn about this joint project to increase economic mobility in local communities. 

If you scanned some of the financial headlines lately, you could be forgiven for thinking America had entered a new economic Golden Age. The economy is “roaring” (NBC News), “thriving” (Fox News) and even “too good to be true” (Washington Post).

You’d get a very different sense of the state of economic opportunity in America by talking to Mike and Willa Strickland of Dayton, Ohio. They were living with their boys in a homeless shelter until they found a spot in a public housing complex. Mike, a line worker at a meatpacking plant, recalled recently in a Frontline documentary how his parents were able to build a comfortable middle class life. He and his wife, who works in customer service, have struggled just to keep a roof over their heads.

The Stricklands’ story reflects what Harvard University economist Raj Chetty and his colleagues describe as the “fading American Dream.” While 90 percent of children born in the 1940s grew up to earn more than their parents, only half of children today will earn more than their parents. Millions of low-income young people are living in neighborhoods where their chances of climbing the economic ladder are slim.

Read the full article about increasing economic mobility by Michele Jolin at Route Fifty.