Start at the Beginning; a Person-Centered Design and Evaluation Framework for Policies to Boost Household Cashflow and Beyond
The financial hardships households faced in the midst of the pandemic reveals the scale of the precarity that millions of households were experiencing well before the crisis began. This highlights the urgency of the need to reimagine our system of benefits—both public and private—to effectively and equitably support households to recover from this pandemic and build security for the future. The Aspen Institute Financial Security Program (Aspen FSP)’s Benefits 21 initiative is dedicated to integrating and modernizing the American system of benefits to ensure all households have financial security and can live economically dignified lives.
Short-term financial stability: A foundation for security and well-being
Short-term cushions are key to longer-term financial security and well-being. This report shines a light on the central role that short-term financial stability plays in a person’s ability to reach broader financial security and upward economic mobility, a measurement of whether an individual moves up the economic ladder over one’s lifetime or across generations. The insights presented in this report draw primarily on evidence provided by members of the Consumer Insights Collaborative (CIC), a group of nine leading nonprofits across the United States convened by the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program. These diverse organizations offer a window into the financial lives of the low- and moderate-income individuals they serve.