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Potential Story Ideas Generated From Turbulent Times:
Money, Housing and Working Families

From Journalism Center Staff

April 2008

Family economics (Jared Bernstein)

The savings rate; it's stayed low while personal debt has risen. Are families at increased risk of financial breakdown? Were safety net programs constructed with assumptions that don't hold true in this economy?

Take a specific risk, such as an unexpected illness or a layoff, and examine safety net issues from two perspectives: the family's resources (their savings or assets) and what's provided by governments or public serving institutions or nonprofits.

Maybe the family is burdened by hospitalization costs (with or without insurance). How are they deciding what debts get paid first? If they cut back on food (see Bernstein's graph on rising costs), what kind of assistance can they get? (Consider the role of school feeding programs too.) How will the hospital get paid back? Are hospital debts turned over to a private agency? Is uncollected debt affecting the institution's ability to provide care?

If it's a job loss, can the person get unemployment? What living expenses will that cover? What happens to those for whom unemployment insurance is running out?

College or food? Costs for these items have generally risen above the overall consumer price index (per Bernstein's chart w/ Bureau of Labor Statistics data). If families are spending money on college tuition, are they cutting back elsewhere? At what point does a family see tuition as a luxury instead of an investment in a child's future earning power? (That last point reflects national studies that over a lifetime there are big income advantages for the college-educated. Will that advantage hold?)

Median family income: Still falling short? Take a look at Bernstein's chart on median family income, with breakouts for Hispanics and African Americans. Do the income losses hold true in your community? If so, have community leaders tried to address root causes? To what end? And what, if anything, are families doing to make up lost ground? If working multiple jobs is one answer, what toll does that take on family life? (See new Pew Research Center findings on "life's priorities" -- that "free time" is most important to middle class earners.)

Aspirations. Bernstein mentioned the ubiquity of "middle class" aspirations -- a stable home and bright futures for the kids. What do people say (consider asking high schoolers and young adults) about their own dreams and what's needed to get there? Will local educational or vocational programs help?

Housing (Sandee Newman)

Even without the subprime meltdown there's still a lot to explore. For some source suggestions, scroll down to "Housing/Homelessness" on this page.

What's going on with public housing in your area? Are there wait lists? Is there a change in the number of units available in recent years? Are people signing up now who've never lived in public housing? If so, what do they think it will mean for their kids? How well does the housing agency function? What does the low-income rental or subsidized housing market look like?

Hidden strengths of public housing? Newman's research suggests that children from low-income families who live in public housing have better long-term outcomes (such as earnings and educational attainment). Does that surprise people currently raising kids in public housing? What factors do residents think engender a child's success?

Home ownership is rewarded in the U.S. tax system, but is it best for kids? Newman's new analysis suggests whether a family owns a home has greater benefit to white than black kids (accounting for differences in duration of home ownership, neighborhood wealth, etc.). What do local agencies and nonprofit housing groups make of that? Given that minorities, especially women, apparently received most of the subprime loans, does society make assumptions about homeownership that need to be explored?

What is a foreclosure move like from a kids' perspective?