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The traditional narrative of the American Dream — hard work, steady saving, and a little bit of luck will lead to security today and mobility tomorrow — has all but become an American Myth.

Today, insecurity is so pronounced that 92 percent of Americans, when asked to choose between being a little richer or more financially stable, chose stability. But amidst 30 years of wage stagnation and radically decreased mobility, neither has been attainable.

±õ²ÔÌý, authors Jonathan MorduchÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýRachel Schneider track the financial lives of 235 low- and middle-income households to cast a light on the pervasive economic anxiety felt across the country. The individuals they profile — among them a casino dealer, a street vendor, and a tax preparer — challenge popular assumptions about how Americans earn, spend, borrow, and save and suggest new tools the U.S. needs to correct the broader distress of income and wealth inequality.

´³´Ç¾±²ÔÌý¹ú²úÊÓƵ NYC for a conversation on the growing financial instability Americans face and the policy interventions needed to better support those who need it most.

OPENING REMARKS:

Xavier de Souza Briggs 
Vice President, Economic Opportunity and Markets, Ford Foundation

PARTICIPANTS

Jonathan Morduch 
Professor of Public Policy and Economics and Director, Financial Access Initiative, New York University
°ä´Ç-²¹³Ü³Ù³ó´Ç°ù,ÌýThe Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty

Rachel Schneider 
Senior Vice President, Center for Financial Services Innovation
°ä´Ç-²¹³Ü³Ù³ó´Ç°ù,ÌýThe Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty

Justin King
Policy Director, Family-Centered Social Policy, ¹ú²úÊÓƵ

Unique Brathwaite
Executive Director, LIFT–New York

Alex Goldmark 
Supervising Producer, Planet Money, NPR

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